
Class JiL AIL 

Book >l s 

Copyright N° 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 






"A \ T 



CLASSIC MYTHOLOGY 

A TRANSLATION (WITH THE AUTHORS SANCTION) OF 



PROFESSOR C. WITT'S 
"GRIECHISCHE GOTTER TOD HELDENGESCHICHTEff" 



BY 

FRANCES YOUNGHITSBAND 

WITH A PREFACE 

BY 

ARTHUR SIDGWICK, M.A. 



SUPPLEMENTED WITH A GLOSSARY OF 

ETYMOLOGIES AND 

xvELATED MYTHS 




n APR 28 1883 \ 
%> v no.:. 

°/=" WASHING^ 



NEW YORK 
HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 

1888 



3^ 






t> 



Copyright, 1883, 

BY 

HENRY HOLT & CO, 



IX-yozcv 



NOTE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION. 



While all that Mr. Sidgwick says in the preface about 
the fitness of these stories to instruct and entertain chil- 
dren, is true, it is also true that they are fit to entertain 
students of any age, and instruct most of them. 

In consequence of the latter fact, the American pub- 
lishers have had prepared for their edition a glossary of 
etymologies and related myths, so that any student with 
a moderate preparation may find the volume an introduc- 
tion to Comparative Mythology. 

The teacher is recommended to explain each myth, 
referring the pupils to the glossary, after the recitation, 
and to examine the pupils on the explanation, as a 
review exercise at the next recitation. To couple the 
explanation with the first knowledge of the story, would 
detract from its charm as a story. 



PREFACE. 



The following collection of legends about the 
Greek gods and heroes, to which I have been asked to 
write a few words of introduction, is a translation of a 
little book by Professor C. Witt which has been received 
in Germany with great favour by the public and * the 
press. This popularity has been due, not merely to 
the intrinsic beauty of the stories, but to the skill 
shown in the selection, and in the simplicity of the style. 
The last quality it has been the aim of the translator to 
retain in the English version ; and the success of the 
book in Germany suggests a hope that the translation 
may become a favourite in this country. 

That there still exists a demand for some such 
book, notwithstanding the deserved popularity of 
Kingsley's ' Heroes,' Cox's Mythological Tales, and 
Church's Stories from Greek and Latin Writers, seems 
to be shown by the large number of encouraging 
letters received by the translator from persons engaged 
or interested in education. 



VI PREFACE. 

That Greek stories, simply told, will be acceptable 
to children, common sense would tell us, even apart 
from experience. Children impartially welcome all 
tales of incident and wonder, if they can understand 
the language in which they are written, and if their 
pleasure is not dashed by the medicinal flavour of a 
moral , And even a moral will not deter them if it be 
not too explicit or obtrusive. 

Again, from the teacher's point of view as well as 
the child's, there seems to be every reason in favour of 
presenting to them at an early age the stories of Greek 
mythology. There is first the obvious fact that such 
reading trains and cultivates the imaginative faculties, 
and that it is good to vary the ' Arabian Nights ' and 
the German and Norse fairy-tales with such totally 
different material as the Greek stories. There are 
also other reasons arising from the altered position of 
Greek in education. 

Without entering on any controverted question, it 
is clear that even in classical schools the teaching of 
Greek will have in the future to occupy fewer hours, 
and probably to begin at a later age, than hitherto. The 
much greater number of subjects now taught, and 
necessarily and rightly taught, makes this inevitable. 
And if the same good, or anything like the same good, 
is to be got out of the fewer hours, there must be con- 
siderable modification of method. And one obvious 



PREFACE. Vll 

modification is, that much which before was taught 
slowly and painfully by means of the Greek authors, 
should be learnt quickly and pleasurably by means of 
an English rendering. To take a very humble example : 
The present writer would have a much less weary 
memory of his early struggles with the ' Alcestis ' of 
Euripides at the age of twelve, if he had been familiar 
from the age of six with such a version of the story as 
is presented in this volume. In short, to bring to the 
study of a language— always a difficult and tedious 
business to a beginner —some knowledge of the matter 
with which the literature deals, and some interest in 
the people and their life, must tend to lighten and 
shorten the process of learning. And to this end the 
following little book is offered as a small contribution. 
The aim and hope of the translator may be thus 
summed up in two or three words. All children will 
get pleasure out of these stories, and that is much. 
Many children will perhaps get the elements of cul- 
ture, and that is more. And some may get at once 
pleasure, culture, and a little real preparation for 
severer studies ; and so receive a benefit, though 
doubtless of a humbler kind, yet something like that 
which Pope's ' Homer ' has given to so many genera- 
tions of schoolboys. 

A. S. 

Oxford : November, 1882. 



Vll I 



NOTES. 



NOTE ON T3E SOURCES OF THE STORIES. 

The stories have been taken by the Author from many 
sources, but chiefly from a Greek writer, ^pollodorus, who 
lived hi the second century B.C., and collected the old mytho- 
logical tales. A good deal has also been taken from the 
poems of Hesiod and Homer, and from the tragedies of 
Sophocles ; but in these cases it has been necessary to exer- 
cise some care in the selection of what would be suitable for a 
book intended to be placed in the hands of children. Several 
of the details have been supplied by the ancient works of art 
which have come down to us. 



NOTE ON THE NAMES OF THE GODS. 

As it is probable that many readers will be more familiar 
with the Latin names of the gods, whilst the stories in this 
book, being derived from Greek sources, give naturally the 
Greek names, the following list will perhaps be useful, 
which shows the corresponding names of each god in the 
two languages : — 



Greek. 


Latin. 


Aphrodite. 


Venus. 


Apollon. 


Apollo. 


Artemis. 


Diana. 


Athene. 


Minerva.. 


Kronos. 


Saturnus 


Demeter. 


Ceres. 


Dionusos or Bacchos. 


Bacchus. 


Hephaistos. 


Vulcanus. 


Hera. 


Iuno. 


Hermes. 


Mercurius. 


Persephone. 


Proserpina. 


Plouton. 


Pluto. 


Poseidon. 


Neptunus. 


Zeus. 


Iuppiter. 



Also the hero and domi-god Herakles is called Hercules by the 
Romans. 



.NOTES. ix 

The young reader will naturally ask why, if the stories 
are the same, the names are in most cases so different. And 
the answer is briefly this : Each nation had originally its 
own gods, with different names and quite different ideas 
attaching to them. But the Greeks were a far more gifted 
and imaginative people than the Romans, and, when com- 
munication was established between the countries, became in 
many ways their teachers. Many Romans learned Greek, 
and the Greek stories became current. But as the Romans 
naturally adhered to the old names of their own gods, there 
arose in this way an identification. The old Latin ideas 
about their gods gave way to, .or were incorporated with, the 
much richer and more poetical Greek fancies and traditions ; 
and thus the Greek mythology was almost bodily adopted by 
the Roman writers. 

For example, the god Saturnus was originally a Latin 
rustic god, presiding (as the name shows) over the important 
work of solving corn. But when the identification took 
place, all the stories about Kronos were gradually attached 
to him, and thus we find him in the Roman poets the father 
of luppiter, and the old dispossessed king of the gods. 

In a f'3w cases (as Apollo, Pluto, Bacchus), the name was 
adopted as well as the story, the termination being Latinised. 
Sometimes it was corrupted, as Proserpina from Persephone ; 
and sometimes a chance resemblance (as that between the 
Latin Hercules, originally Herculus, and the Greek Herakles) 
determined the identification. 

Accordingly when we say, as is often said, that the 
Greek Artemis (for example) is 'called Diana in Latin,' we 
are using language which, without the above explanation, is 
liable to mislead the beginner. 

A. S. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER 

Glossary of Etymologies and Related Myth 
I. The Beginning of All Things 

II. The Golden Age 

III. Prometheus and Epimetheus . 
IV Deucalion and Pyrrha ... 
V. The Rape of Persephone . * . 

VI. Marpesra . - 

VII. Artemis 

VIII. The Giants Otus and Ephialtes 

IX. Endymiox 

X. lo . . 

XL Danaus and Aegyptus 
XII. Phaethon 

XIII. Salmoneus and Sisyphus . . 

XIV. Bellerophon 

XV. Daedalus and Icarus .... 

XVI. Europa and Cadmus 

XVII. Thebes 

XVIII. Semele 

XIX. Dionysus , 

XX. Melampus and Bias 

XXI. Tantalus. Pelops ..... 
XXII. Niobe 

XXIII. Meleager and Atalanta .... 

XXIV, Admetus and Alcestis . ... 


PAGE 

s xiii 
1 
8 
9 

13 
16 
20 
23 
27 
29 
31 
34 
39 
42 
45 
52 
54 
59 
61 
. 63 
68 
75 
. 80 
. 83 
. 91 



XI i CONTENTS. 

CHAPTKR " VAOB- 

XXV. Perseus . . .95 

XXVI, Heracles :— 

1. The War with the Teleboae .... 104 

2. The Birth and Youth of Heracles . . . 108 

3. The Madness of Heracles, and his First Six 

Labours ....... 112 

4. The Last Six Labours . . . ... 122 

5. The Murder of Iphitus and the Vengeances of 

Heracles ..,.•■• 137 

6. The Marriage of Heracles with Deianira, and 

his Death 142 

XXVII. The Quest op the Argonauts : — 

1. The Golden Fleece 148 

2. The Journey to Colchis 151 

3. The Fight for the Golden Fleece . . . 159 

4. The Journey Home 165 

5. Medea's Kevenge 171 

XXVIII. Theseus 176 

XXIX. Oedipus 205 

XXX. The Seven against Thebes . . . .212 

XXXI. The Epigoni . • 224 

XXXII. Eros and Psyche 231 



GLOSSARY 



ETYMOLOGIES AND BELATED MYTHS. 



This glossary is intended to disclose the foundation upon which 
the Classic Myths rest. 

From the indisputable evidence of likeness in words, and from 
the similarity, often the identity, of attribute and legend, we con- 
clude that the gods of Greece and Rome, the heroes of the German 
"Lay of the Children of the Mist," and the actors in the Indian 
epic poems, the Vedas, owe their existence largely to one and the 
same source. That source is made up of words and phrases used 
by the primitive Aryan people, from whom nearly all Europeans 
and white Americans are descended, to express their thoughts 
about the mysterious sights, sounds, and changes of the outward 
world. 

This simple people watched with wonder the rise, progress, and 
setting of the sun, the dawn and the twilight, the color and play 
of the clouds. Then, trying to explain the marvellous, they said 
that the sun was an all- wise being who toiled incessantly for man- 
kind, and who, when the day was swallowed by a hideous mon- 
ster, night, fought that monster, vanquished him, and brought 
back the morning light. And their sayings about less striking 
things in nature were fully as poetical and expressive. Through 
the influence of time, and owing to the wide wanderings and 
separation .of the branches of the Aryan family, the first significa- 
tion of these words and phrases was greatly changed and some- 
times entirely lost. 



xiv GLOMARZ 

By degrees the names took ou substantial form, that is, were 
supposed to represent real creatures, divine or human, and the 
phrases formed themselves into tales descriptive of the deeds of 
these creatures. 

To Homer, Hesiod, and their Greek descendants the personifica- 
tion was complete, and personal deities seemed to them to dwell 
on the cloud-capped Olympus, deities who rewarded or punished 
men at will, fought, loved and hated each other, and frequently 
lied, cheated, and stole in a manner far from worshipful. 

Some philosophers indeed suspected that a secret lay hid be- 
neath this inconsistent faith which had grown up about them, 
but they only hinted and winked at each other, not daring or 
caring to jostle too roughly things so sacred to the people. Now 
the secret is an open one, and he who does not obstinately shut 
his eyes and ears may read and hear all about it. 

Learned men have compared the names and stories of the gods 
among different nations, and found the resemblances which point 
to the common origin we have indicated. They have called 
their conclusions, when put into systematic shape, " Comparative 
Mythology." 

In this glossary, the general outline of the system of Compara- 
tive Mythology is indicated, and the striking points of resemblance 
between the myths are enumerated. 

The etymology is given in cases where it throws any light on 
the Greek comprehension of the name, or is undoubtedly that of 
a name having an equivalent signification in the co-ordinate 
Sanskrit. Sanskrit is the language of the descendants of that 
branch of the Aryan family which went into India from high 
Asia. Other branches went into Greece, Italy, and some other 
parts of Europe. The comparisons of language are based on 
Prof. Max Mailer's "Science of Language" and Sir G. W. Cox's 
" Mythology and Folklore." 

For clearness, most of the names are referred to the class of 
myths to which they belong; so by reference the student can 
group together the heroes of sun-myths, sea-myths, dawn-myths, 
etc., and, by observation of the likeness and frequent identity or 
attribute and action, convince himself that there must have been 
a common background. 

The myths may be roughly classified as follows: 



GLOSSARY. 



XV 



MYTHS OF THE SUN. 



Apollo, 


Eros, 


GEdipus, 


Athamas, 


Helios, 


Perseus, 


Bellerophon, 


Heracles, 


Phaethon 


Cadmus, 


Jason, 


Sisyphus, 


Endymion, 


Meleager, 
Theseus. 


Tantalus, 



MYTHS OF THE DAWN. 



^Ethra, 


Atalanta, 


H5b5, 


AlcmSuB, 


Athene, 


Helena, 


Andromeda, 


Clytemnestra, 


Iol5, 


Antigone, 


Daual 5 , 


Jocasta, 


Aphrodite, 


Europa, 


Medea, 


Ariadne, 


Graces, 


Psyche. 



MYTHS OF THE WIND. 



Ares, 


Ephialtes, 


Hermes, 


Boreas, 


Harpies, 
Otus. 


Orpheus, 



MYTHS OF THE HEAVENS. 

Argus, Here, Uranus, 

Zeus. 



^Egeus, 
Nereus, 



MYTHS OF THE SEA. 

Poseidon, Sirens. 



Gigantes, 
Hephaestus, 



MYTHS OF FIRE. 

Hestia, 
Prometheus, 



Titans. 



XVI 



GLOSSARY. 



MYTHS OF THE DAYLIGHT. 



Deianeira, 



Glauce, 

Muses. 



Ino, 



Laius, 



MYTHS OF THE NIGHT. 

Leda, Leto. 



MYTHS OF THE MOON. 

Artemis, Circe, Io. 

Sel6n5. 



Danae\ 
Dem5t5r. 



MYTHS OF THE EARTH. 

Goea, Semele, 

Rhea, 



MYTHS OF THE CLOUDS. 

Centaur, Niobe, Phrixus. 

HellB, Pegasus, 



MYTHS OF UNDERWORLD AND OF DEMONS OF 
DARKNESS. 



Cacus, 


Geryon, 


Minotaur 


Cerberus, 


Gorgons, 


Pluto, 


Charon, 


Hydra, 


Sphinx. 


Chimera, 


Medusa, 





GLOSSAET. 



Achelous, Gr. Acheloos. The 
name of a river, afterwards 
used to denote any running 
water. It probably contains 
the same root as Lat. aqua. 

Acheron. The name conveyed 
to the Greeks an idea of woe, 
■which implies a derivation 
from (aehos) ache, pain. It 
is probably only another 
form of Achelous, and con- 
tains same root as Lat. aqua. 

Acruius, Gr. Akrisios. See 
Perseus. 

JEetes. See Medea. 

JEgeus, Gr. Aigeus. Belongs 
to group of sea-myths. An- 
other name for Poseidon. 
Means the dash of the waves 
on the shore, and is proba- 
• bly akin to a'isso, to move 
quickly. 

JEJlhra, Gr. Aithre, clear air. 
Belongs to group of dawn-, 
myths. Theseus, the Athe- 
nian hero, represents one of 
the sayings about the sun, 
horn of iEgeus, the sea, and 
iEthra, the clear air. 

Alcmene, Gr. Alkmene. Be- 
longs to group of dawn- 
myths. See Heracles. 

Andromeda. Belongs to group 
of dawn-myths. The story 
of the marriage of Androm- 
eda with the sun-hero, Per- 



Andromeaa — {Continued). 
seus, after the slaying of a 
monster, represents the un- 
ion of the dawn with the 
sun after he has dispelled 
the night: It is but another 
form of the tale of Ariadne 
and almost all the brides of 
sun-heroes. 

Antigone. Belongs to group 
of dawn-myths. In the 
story of (Edipus, a sun-hero, 
Antigone, the dawn, is his 
daughter, not his wife. Her 
devotion to her father and 
her near presence at his 
death symbolize, as in all 
this class of myths, the reap- 
pearance of the tinted clouds 
of morning at sunset. 

Aphrodite. Belongs to group 
of dawn-myths. The dawn 
as it springs radiant from 
aphros, the foam of the sea. 
This lovely light was per- 
sonified by the Greeks as the 
goddess of beauty and sub- 
sequently of love. They 
sometimes called her Ana- 
dyomene, she who rises up. 
She is the Hindu Ushas, and 
another of her Greek names, 
Argynnis, corresponds to 
the Sanskr. Arjuni, the 
gleaming one. She has been 
identified with Lat. Venus. 



XV 111 



GLOSSARY 



ApoVo, Gr. Apollo n, the de- 
stroyer. Belongs to group of 
sun-myths. He is the sun- 
god, born of Zeus, the sky, 
and Leto, the night, in 
Delos, the bright or visible 
land. His name, Phoebus, 
has the root phao, to shine. 
His career and attributes 
all symbolize the course of 
the sun in the heavens, 
which idea of motion marks 
a distinction between him 
and Helios, the god whose 
habitation was in the sun. 
In his wisdom is seen the 
searching light of the sun 
from which nothing is hid- 
den. The unerring arrows of 
his quiver are the rays of 
light, all powerful to heal or 
to consume. He is the Hindu 
Sun/a. 

Arcadia, Gr. Arkadia. The 
bright hind, the East. 

Ares. Belongs to group of 
wind -myths. The name, 
like Hindu Maruts and Lat. 
Mars, contains the root mar, 
to grind. The first significa- 
tion was, the raging tempest, 
thus the name came to be per- 
sonified by Greeks as god of 
wild tumult and war. 

Argus, Gr. argos, shining. 
Equivalent to Sanskr. ar- 
gunas. 

Argus (panoptes). The all- seeing.^ 
Belongs to group of myths of 
the heavens. As the guardian 
of If>, the moon-goddess, with 
his thousand twinkling eyes, 
he symbolizes the myriad 
stars. 

Ariadne. Belongs to group of 
dawn-myths. The desertion 
of Theseus at ISTaxos sym- 
bolizes the separation of the 
sun from the dawn, here his 



Ariadne — (Continued). 
wife. Ariadne in the Athe- 
nian legend answers to the 
Colchian Medea and the An- 
dromeda of the Argive tradi- 
. tions, also to Biynhild in the 
Lay of the Children of the 
Mist (Niebelungenlied). 

Artemis. Belongs to group of 
.moon-myths, personified^ as 
goddess of the chase. Her 
unerring arrows symbolize 
the moonbeams. The Greek 
Artemis must not be con- 
founded with the Ephesian 
Artemis, who w r as a horrible 
demon. Artemis corre- 
sponds to Lat. Diana. 

Atalanta. The name contains 
the same root as Atlas, and 
denotes power of endurance. 
In the legend of Meleagros 
Atalanta represents the dawn. 
Belongs to group of dawn- 

. myths. 

Athamas. Belongs to group of 
sun-myths. The name is 
identical with that of Semit- 
ic sun -god, Tammuz. His 

- marriage with ISephele (the 
mist) sjmibolizes the action 
of the sun in absorbing or 
dispelling clouds of mist. 
Their children, Phrixus and 
Hell5, are the cold and warm 
air. 

Athene. Belongs to group of 
dawn-myths. Her name and 
story akin to that of Sanskr. 
Ahand. She personifies the 
light of morning as it seems 
to spring from the forehead 
of the sky. The Sanskr. to 
wake, is also to know, so, 
to the Hindu, the goddess 
who woke people became the 
goddess of wisdom. The 
Greeks had the same idea, 
though they had lost the 



GLOSSARY. 



xix 



Athene— (Continued). 
word which expressed it. 
Athene answers to Lat. Mi- 



Bacchus, Gr. Bakchos . or 
IakcJios. See Dionysus. 

Bellerophon. Belongs to group 
of sun-myths. The name 
means the bane or slayer of 
Belleros. Belleros probably 
contains same root as Hindu 
Vritra (varvara), the monster 
slain by lndra. 

Boreas. Belongs to group of 
wind-myths. The name may 
be akin to Ares, Maruts, Mars, 
and symbolizes dire confu- 
sion. Personified in Lat. 
Aquilo. 

Cacus. Gr. Kakos, bad. 

Cadmea, Gr. Kadmeia. Prob- 
ably Syrian Kedem, the East. 

Cadmus, Gr. Kadmos. Be- 
longs to group of sun-myths. 
Perhaps the man from the 
East, Syrian Kedem. In this 
myth the dawn, Europa, is 
the sister of the sun, and she 
has been borne away by the 
sky, Zeus. 

Castor, Gr. Kastor. With" his 
brother Pollux (Gr. Poly- 
deukes), may represent the 
dawn, and twilight. To- 
gether they are called the 
Dioscuri (Gr. Bios, God, 
kouros, a boy), or sons of 
Zeus. The word Kastor, 
meaning a crocus, is akin to 
Sunskr. kasturi, musk. The 
two brothers correspond to 
Hindu Asvins, from asvd, a 
mare. 

Centaur, Gr. Kerdauros. Prob- 

'~ably from kenteo, to spear. 
They belong to group of 
cloud-myths and correspond 



Centaur — (Continued). 
to Hindu gandharvas which 
symbolize cloud-masses, the 
heads lit by the sun and the 
rest in shade. This theory 
would account for the fan- 
tastic form ascribed to the 
Centaurs. There is a sugges- 
tion of it in Virgil's Kubigence. 

Cerberus, Gr. Kerberos. Means 
the Darkling. Belongs to 
myths of under-world, and 
his name is akin to Kimme- 
rioi, the Cimmerians or dark 
people. Answers to Hindu 
Sarvara. 

Chaos. From root Cha, a yawn- 
ing abyss, sometimes repre- 
sented as a primitive being, 
husband of Gaia. 

Charon. Belongs to myths of 
under-world. The name sig- 
nifies a lion, also an eagle. 
The ferryman of the Styx 
may have been so named 
from his bright, eagle-like 
eyes. Some think it signifies 
a devourer, probably from root 
cha, an abyss. 

Chimera, Gr. Chimaira, the 
Avord for a she-goat. Belongs 
to group of myths of demons 
of darkness. 

Circe, Gr. Kirke. Belongs to 
group of moon-myths. The 
subtle beauty of the moon 
works a spell fatal to energy, 
and hence may come the idea 
of the enchantment woven by 
Circe over the heroes of the 
Odyssey. 

Clytemnestra, Gr. Klytaimnes- 
tra. Belongs to group of 
dawn-myths. The bride of 
the sun-hero Agamemnon. 
Her name is from klutos, no- 
ble, mnaomai, to woo for a. 
wife. 

Cronus, Gr. Kronos. Personi- 



XX 



GLOSSARY, 



Cron us — ( Continued). 
fied as god of time. In the 
story of Cronus swallowing 
Iris children, may be seen the 
action of time devouring the 
days and years. At Athens 
the word came to be a nick- 
name for an old fogy. Corre- 
sponds to Lat. Saturn. 

Cu'dd, Lat. See Eros. 

Geres, Lat. See Dem5t5r. 

Dcedalus, Gr. Daidalos. The 
name was originally a general 
term denoting skill., from 
dauldlo, to work skillfully. 

Danae. From demos, burnt 
earth. Belongs to group of 
earth-myths. In the wed- 
ding of Danae and Zeus, as the 
golden shower, is symbolized 
the play of the warm sun-rays 
on the earth. See Perseus. In 
another explanation of this 
story Danae symbolizes the 
dawn. 

Dandides. The name may 
mean earth-born, from danos, 
burnt earth. The legend of 
the Dana'ides is strictly Ar- 
give, and they probably rep- 
resent the many wells and 
springs of Argos. The sons 
of iEgyptus are the mountain 
torrents which in spring over- 
whelm the stream-beds and 
fountains. The idea of the 
waves' beheading their hus- 
bands refers to the disappear- 
ance of the torrents in sum- 
mer, wdiile the springs still 
bubble pleasantly. The sur- 
vival of one husband, Lyn- 
keus or Lykreios, may refer 
to the fact that the Lykreios, 
a name for a portion of the 
river Inachos, never dried. 

Dtlaneira. Name means de- 
stroying her spouse. Belongs 



Deianeira — {Continued). 

to group of myths of the 
daylight. For her Heracles 
forsook Iol5, his bride of the 
morning, as Paris forsook 
(Enoue for Helen, as Si- 
gurd forsook Brynhild for 
Gudrun. But the sun-hero 
must ere he dies be reunited 
with the dawn, an idea 
which symbolizes the reap- 
pearance of the violet and 
yellow morning clouds at 
sunset; so, out of jealousy 
of Iole, the violet hue, Deia- 
neira flings about her hus- 
band the mantle dipped in 
the blood of Nessus. This 
blood-red mantle represents 
the angry crimson clouds, in 
which the sun so often dies. 

Delos. A word for visible, bright. 
Perhaps because the island is 
said to have sprung sud- 
denly into sight, but proba- 
bly because it is the East, the 
land where the sun rises. 

Demeter. Belongs to group of 
earth-myths; corresponds in 
name and legend to Hindu 
Dyava-matar, the earth-mo- 
ther. In her grief for her 
daughter Persephone, carried 
off by Pluto, is seen the cold, 
barren earth in winter mourn- 
ing for her summer child. 
Identified with Lat. Ceres. 

Deucalion, Gr. Denization. The 
story of his creative power 
merely ascribes to him an at- 
tribute of his father, Prome- 
theus. The myth of a terri- 
ble flood from which only the 
pious are spared may be called 
universal. We have the 
Hindu tale of the escape of 
Manu the thinker, or man, 
with the seven sages, and 
many other analogous ver- 



gloss ah y 



XXI 



Deucalion — (Continued). 
sions. The name Deucalion 
signifies the brilliant. 

Dionysus. Both the attributes 
and worship of Dionysus are 
move Semitic than Aryan. 
His power is greater, his pas- 
sions are more violent and his 
movements are wilder than 
those of the Aryan sun-gods 
and heroes. He may be taken 
to symbolize the mysterious 
mover and movement of the 
Universe. As lakchos, Lat. 
Bacchus, he is the god of the 
vine. 

Dioscuri, Gr. Dioskouroi. See 
Castor. 

Diana. See Artemis. 

Endymion. Belongs to group 
of sun-myths. "The name 
signifies the sun as he dips in 
the sea. The love of Selene 
for the youth Endymion 
symbolizes the light of the 
rising moon falling on the 
sun as he sinks to sleep in 
Latinos, the laud of forget- 
fulness, the night. 

Epnialtes. Word for one icho 
leaps. Belongs to group of 
wind-myths. He and his 
brother Otus are called the 
AUoadai from aloe, a thresh- 
ing-floor. They are literally 
the leaper and the pusher, and 
symbolize the hurricane and 
the wind. 

Epimelheus. Name means the 
after-thinker (medos, coun- 
sel), and was suggested by 
that of his brother Prome- 
theus, which the later Greeks 
supposed to mean the fore- 
thinker. 

Eros. The word for love, per- 
sonified by Greeks as god of 
love. Belongs to group of 



Eros — ( Continued). 
sun-myths. Name corre- 
sponds to Hindu Arushd, who 
symbolizes the sun mounting 
the sky, under the figure of 
a lovely child. The heart- 
piercing darts of Eros sym- 
bolize sunbeams. He is iden- 
tified with Lat. Cupid. See 
Psyche. 

Europa. Belongs to group of 
dawn-myths. Her name is 
that of the Vedic Urvasi, the 
wide- spreading dawn. See 
Cadmus. 

Fates, Gr. Moirai, Lat. Par- 
cm. The Fates, from Lat. 
fatum, a thing spoken, repre- 
sent in Aryan mythologies 
under various names the 
past, present, and future. 
They are always three sisters, 
dreadful and inexorable, 
whose power transcends that 
of Zeus himself. 

Gem, Gr. Oaia or OS. A 
Avoid for the earth. 

Garden of Hesperides. All the 
myths of this enchanted land 
symbolize the beauties of the 
western clouds and sky at 
■ sunset. The name is from 
fcespem, even-tide. 

Geryon. Belongs to myths of 
demons oj drought and dark- 
ness slain by sun heroes. 

Gigantes. Belong to group of 
fire-myths. Their fights and 
their death-dealing weapons 
symbolize eruption of volca- 
noes. 

Golden-fleece. Belongs to group 
of myths of hidden or stolen 
treasures. These treasures 
generally symbolized the in- 
valuable light and heat of the 



XX11 



GLOSS AS- Y. 



Glauce, Gr. Glauke. A word 
for a bright, gleaming thing. 
Belongs to myths of the broad 
daylight. For Glauke Jason 
forsakes his dawn-bride Me- 
dea, and by Medea Glauke is 
slain, in the evening. The 
story compares with that of 
Dei'aneira and IolB, etc. 

jGorgons. Belong to the myths 
of demons of drought and 
darkness. The destruction of 
Medusa by Perseus symbolizes 
the dispelling of the night by 
the sun. 

Graces, Gr. Charites. Belong 
to group of dawn-myths. They 
correspond to the Hindu Har- 
its, which like the Greek word 
contains the root ghar, to 
glisten. 

Harpies, Gr. Harpyiai. Be- 
long to group of wind- 
myths. Harpyia is a name 
for a fresh wind. 

Hebe. Belongs to group of 
dawn-myths. Her name im- 
plies that she is ever young, 
and is akin to Lat. j uveitis 
and Sanskr. yavan, young. 

Helena, Gr. Helene. Belongs 
to group of dawn-myths. 
The gleaming daughter of the 
sky and night, and phoneti- 
cally identical with Sanskr. 
Sarama. 

Helios. Belongs to group of 
sun-myths. The name signi- 
fies the sun. He dwelt in the 
sun, and thus differs from 
Apollo, who wandered eter- 
nally. 

Ilelle. Belongs to group of 
cloud-myths. Her name 
shows her the light, warm air. 
Helle and Phrixus correspond 
largely to the Niflungs, the 
Norse children of the mists. 
See At hamas. 



Hephcestus, Gr. Hephaidos. 
Belongs to group of fire- 
myths. His name has the 
same root as Hebe, and maybe 
connected with apto, to kin- 
dle fire. He is the Agni ya- 
vishta of the Hindu, the 
youngest of the gods, fire 
being supposed to spring new- 
ly to life whenever kindled. 
Again, he is puny at birth, 
like a spark, but soon waxes 
strong and terrible, as devour- 
ing flame. ' Regin, the smith 
of the Norse legends, corre- 
sponds to Heplnestus. Identi- 
fied with Latin Yulcan. 

Hera, Gr. Here. Belongs to 
myths of the heavens. Her 
name is probably connected 
with the Sanskr. svar, the 
bright sky. She may sym- 
bolize the heavenly air, con- 
sort of Zeus, the sky, and thus 
queen of heaven. She corre- 
sponds to Lat. Juno. 

Heracles, Gr. Herakles, Lat. 
Hercules. Name may signify 
the glory of Hera (klutos, 
glory). Belongs to group of 
sun-myths. His life and la- 
bors symbolize the daily or 
yearly course of the sun. He 
is born of the sky, Zeus, and 
the dawn, Alcmene. He weds 
Dei'aneira and is parted from 
the dawn, Iole. He toils 
ceaselessly for the good of 
others. He wields the unerr- 
ing weapons, the rays. He 
goes to his death battling 
with blood-red clouds, con- 
sumed by the shirt of Nessus, 
cast over him by Dei'aneira. 
His story is that of the Per- 
sian Rustam, the Hindu In- 
dra, and the Norse Siegfried. 
The stories of Perseus, The- 
seus, (Edipus > etc., are analo- 
gous. 



GLOSSARY. 



xxill 



Hermes. Belongs to group of 
wind-myths. His name is 
identical with Saramaya, son 
of the Hindu, Sarama, the 
dawn creeping softly over the 
sky. His story symbolizes 
the action of wind. In the 
morning a baby crying feebly, 
growing suddenly to man's 
stature, stealing, singing, 
fighting, wooing, and playing 
the maddest pranks, creeping- 
back to sleep awhile in the 
caves where he was born. He 
is the messenger of the gods 
and corresponds to Lat. Mer- 
cury. 

Hesperides. From Gr. IJespera, 
even-tide. See Garden of 
Hesperides. 

Hestia. The name for the fire- 
side personified. Belongs to 
group of fire-myths. The Hin- 
du Agni in some of his func- 
tions answers to Hestia. The 
goddess of the household. 
Identified with Lat. Vesta. 

Hydra. Belongs to myths of 
demons of drought and dark- 
ness. As his name implies, he 
is a water-snake. 

Ino. Belongs to group of 
myths of the daylight. She 
is the open and glaring day 
for whom Athamas, the shn- 
god, forsakes his bride Ne- 
phelS, the mist. Thus she 
becomes the step-mother, and 
from her ardent nature the 
enemy, of the children of the 
mist. 

To. A name for the moon. 
Belongs to group of moon- 
myths. In her wanderings, 
in the form of a white cow, 
we seethe horned moon flying 
from the broad daylight, 
Hera, the queen of heaven. 



lo — (Continued). 

See Argos. She has been 
identified with Egyptian Isis. 

Me. Belongs to group of dawn- 
myths. Her name, froni ion, 
a violet, signifies the violet- 
tinted clouds sometimes seen 
at sunrise and sunset. See 
Dei'aneira. 

Jason. Belongs to group of 
sun-myths. Compare story 
with that of Heracles, etc. 

Jocasta, Gr. lokaste. Belongs 
to group of dawn-myths. In 
the marriage of (Edipus with 
Jocasta may be seen one of 
the ideas of the Vedic hymns, 
the sun marrying the dawn 
from which he springs. The 
name, like Iolg, is from ion, a 
violet. 

Juno. See Hera. 

Jupiter. .See Zeus. 

LaiiLs % Gr. Laios. Belongs to 
group of myths of the night. 
This is implied in his name as 
in Leto, etc., also in Hindu 
Dyasu. The story of his death 
by the hand of his son symbol- 
izes the destruction of the 
night by the sun ((Edipus). 
Compare with story of Per- 
seus and Acrisius, etc. 

Leda. Another form of Leto. 
Belongs to group of myths 
of the night. The name, de- 
noting oblivion of night, ap- 
pears in Lethe, Latmos, etc. 

Leto. See Leda. 

Lycia, Gr. Lykia. Means 
the white shining land, from 
Ivkos, white. Allied in mean- 
ing to Delos, etc. 

Lyncens, Gr. Lynkevs. See 
Dana'ides. 

Medea, Gr. Medeia. Belongs to 



XXIV 



GLOSSARY. 



Medea — ( Continued). 
group of dawn-myths. As 
such she goes forth with 
Jason, the sun- hero, from the 
palace of her father ^Eetes, a 
power of darkness, bearing 
with her the golden fleece, 
that is, taking the warm light 
of the sun. Again, in the 
mantle given her by Helios, 
used by her to consume 
GlaukS, may be seen the 
shining garment of Apollo. 
With this she inherits the 
wisdom of the sun-god, hence 
the Greeks ascribed to her 
wisdom which grew into 
witchcraft. Her names is like 
Metis, from Medos, counsel. ■ 

Medusa, Gr. Medousa. See 
Gorgons. 

Meleager or Meleagros. Belongs 
to group of sun-myths. His 
life and exploits . compare 
with those of Perseus and 
other sun -heroes The story 
that Meleagros must die when 
a brand burnt out, means that 
the light of the sun disappears 
when he sinks in the west. 
His career seems to symbolize 
the course of the sun on a 
cloudy day, when he, some- 
times flashes forth splendidly 
and sometimes is shrouded in 
gloom. 

Minos. In name and attributes 
the Hindu Manu, that is, 
Man, the measurer, the think- 
er. 

Minotaur, Gr. Minotauros. 
Means the Bull of Minos. 
He belongs to the myths of 
demons of darkness, slain by 
the sun-hero. 

Muses. Probably correspond to 
the seven sisters of the Hindu 
who nurse the infant Arusha. 
They symbolize* the light of 



Muses — (Continued). 
day, and hence became to 
the Greeks the goddesses of 
all that is beautiful and good. 

Minerva. See Athene. 

Mercury. See Hermes. 

Mars. See Ares. 

Nereus. Belongs to myths of 
the waters. He is the sea- 
god. He is never dissociated 
from the sea, and is to Posei- 
don what Helios is to Phoe- 
bus. The name is from nao, 
to flow. 

Niobe. Belongs to group of 
cloud-myths. The name 
may be traced to snu, to 
flow, which appears in San- 
skrit, JVyava. She is the 
representative of winter. 
The children slain by Apollo 
and Artemis are the snow- 
drifts and icicles vanishing 
before the warmth of sum- 
mer. The tears of NiobS 
may symbolize the melting 
of the frozen earth. 

CEdlpus, Gr. ' Oidipous. Be- 
longs to group of sun-myths. 
His story symbolizes" the 
daily or yearly career o/ the 
sun, and compares with that 
of Heracles/ Theseus, etc. 
See Laius and Jocasta Name 
is probably from oideo, to 
swell; pous, the foot. 

Orpheus, Gr. Orpheus. Be- 
longs to group of wind- 
myths. His name probably 
answers to the Vedic Ribhu. 
In the lyre of Orpheus which 
soothed the dog Cerberus, 
led the ship Argo over the 
calm waters, and overpower- 
ed the singingsirens (the fatal 
belt of calms), is seen the 
force of the favoring breeze. 

Otus, Gr. Otos. See Ep 



GLOSSARY. 



XXV 



random. The name means the 
gift of all the gods. 

Parnassus. For analogous le- 
gends of flood and rest of 
the ark on a mountain, see 
Deucalion. 

Pegasus, Gr. Pegasos. Belongs 
to myths of clouds and mists. 
The name is from Gr. pege, a 
spring-. Hence the ideas of 
his rising from the water 
saddled and bridled, and of 
fountains springing from the 
impress of his hoof. 

Pelops. The name means the 
dark-eyed; pelos, dark, and 
ops, the eye. The slaying of 
Pelops by his father, "Tan ta- 
lus, symbolizes the burning 
of the fruits and flowers of 
the earth by the too great 
heat of the sun. 

Persephone. See DBmBter. She 
is identified with Latin Pro- 
serpina. She compares with 
the Dornroschen and Rapun- 
zel of Teutonic legend. 

Perseus. Belongs to a group 
of sun-myths. His life and 
labors symbolize the career 
of the sun. He is the son 
of Zeus, as the golden 
shower, the sunbeams, and 
Danae\ the dawn, who has 
been imprisoned by her 
father, Acrisius, the dark- 
ness. He is parted from his 
mother in the morning and 
finds her in the evening. As 
one of the fatal children, and 
in his wanderings, his bril- 
liancy, his wisdom and other 
attributes, he compares with 
all sun-heroes. See Hera- 
cles, Apollo, etc. For an- 
other interpretation of parts 
of this myth see Danae\ 

Phadra, Gr. PhaidrB. The 
story of Phaedra's love for 



Ph cedra — ( Con tinned) . 

her stepson Hippolytus 
compares with that of An- 
teia for Bellerophon. 

Phaethon. Belongs to group of 
sun-myths. His name, mean- 
ing gleaming, from pliao, to 
shine, was originally an epi- 
thet of the sun-god. The 
scorching of the land in 
drought suggested the idea 
that an unskilled hand held 
the reins over the horses of 
the sun (the clouds), and 
from this the story of the 
presumption and fall of 
PhajBthon probably arises. 

Phenicia, Gr. Phoimkia. The 
bright purple land of morn- 
ing, from phoinikeos, purple- 
red. Compares with Lycia, 
etc. 

Phrixus, Gr. Phrixos. See 
Athamas and HellB. 

Pluto, Gr. Plouibn. Name for 
the icealth-giver. Belongs to 
the myths of the lower world. 
He is the god of the king- 
doms of darkness. One of 
the three sovereign gods. He 
is Hades or Aides, which de- 
notes the unseen. He guards 
the treasures of earth, the 
minerals and fruits. In the 
story of his seizure of Per- 
sephone may be seen the dis- 
appearance of the summer 
for six months. See Dime- 
ter. 

PoUux, Gr. Polydeukes. See 
Castor. 

Poseidon. Belongs to group of 
myths of the waters. The 
sea-god. One of the three 
sovereign gods, Zeus, Hades, 
and Poseidon. His name 
may originally have denoted 
lordship, and would thus be 
connected with such words 



XXVI 



GLOSSARY 



Poseidon— ( Continued). 
as despot, etc. Or the name 
may be of Phenician origin, 
and connected with Sid-on, 
ship of On, the great fish -god 
of the Phenicians. In most 
of his reputed actions may be 
traced the varied movements 
of the sea. 

Prometheus. Belongs to group 
of fire-myths. He is the 
Hindu Paramantha, and an- 
swers partly to the Loki of 
Norse mythology. He is sim 
ply the maker or giver of 
fire, though in later times the 
Greeks ascribed to his name 
other meanings. See Epi- 
metheus. 

Psyche. Belongs to group 
of dawn-myths. Her name 
is the Greek word for the 
breath. The death of Psyche 
as she gazes upon Eros, the 
lord of love, symbolizes the 
fading of the dawn before 
the unveiled splendor of the 
sun. 

Pyrrlia. Name for the red 
earth. The Eve of the 
Greeks. 

Pythia. The name irom putho, 
to rot, probably comes from 
the rotting of the carcase of 
the dragon, Pytho, slain at 
Delphi by Apollo. 

Rhea. Belongs to group of 
myths of the earth. She 
pre-eminently symbolizes the 
great earth-mother. Lat. Cy- 
bele. 

Saturn. See Cronus. 

Selene. One of the Greek 

words for the moon. Belongs 

to group of moon-myths. 

See Endymion. 
Semele. Belongs to group of 

myths of Ihe earth. 



Silenus, Gi\ Seilenos. Belongs 
to myths of the waters, 
which are subdivided into 
myths of forests and hills. 
The name compares with the 
Italian Silanus, bubbling wa- 
ter, and perhaps with sirens. 

Sirens. Gr. Seirenes. Belong 
to myths of the waters. 
Name may come from the 
Gr. seira, a long cord with 
a noose, in allusion to their 
faculty for catching or en- 
tangling mariners. 

Sisyphus, Gr. Sisyphos. Be- 
longs to group of sun-myths. 
A form of Sophos, the wise. 
In the story of the stone 
rolled daily upward and 
ever descending may be seen 
the sun compelled to climb 
the heaven and then go down 
to darkness. The myth is 
one of the simplest. Sis} r - 
phus compares with Hera- 
cles, Theseus, etc. 

Sphinx. Belongs to myths of 
demons of drought or dark- 
ness slain by the sun. The 
name means one who binds 
fast, from the Gr. sphingo. 
She is the dark being who 
imprisons the rain. Her rid- 
dle may symbolize the mut- 
terings of thunder which 
only the wisdom of the sun- 
hero may interpret. She 
answei's to the Hindu Vritra, 
to Pj'thon, etc. The idea of 
the Theban sphinx is not 
borrowed from the Egyp- 
tian. 

Styx. Means the hateful river. 

Tantalus, Gr. Tantalos. Be- 
longs to group of sun-myths. 
He is a sun-hero, and his 
story, in the ideas of supreme 
wisdom and of transgression 



GLOSSARY. 



xxv 11 



Tantalus — (Continued). 
and punishment, compares 
•with that of Sisyphos. In 
the eternal drawing back 
from him of things almost 
within his grasp may be seen 
the shrinking of the waters 
and of vegetation in times 
of intense heat, when the 
sun may be said to be stoop- 
ing down to touch the earth. 
The name is probably from 
tlao, to suffer. See Pelops. 

Tartarus, Gr. Tartaros. The 
name is akin to thalassa, the 
heaving or raging sea. 

Theseus. The name is from 
ihes, a hired servant. Be- 
longs to group of sun-myths. 
The Athenian hero represent- 
ing the sun. See Argive 
story of Perseus, Theban 
(Edipus, etc. Compares with 
Hindu Indra, etc. 

Titans, Titanides. Belong to 
group of fire-myths. As 
beautiful children of the 

s -heaven and the earth may be 
taken to represent the light- 
ning, as the Cyclopes are 
subterranean fires. The name 
may perhaps be connected 
with titaino, to stretch, or 
with titas, an avenger. 



Uranus, Gr. Ouranos. Be- 
longs to myths of the heav- 
ens. He is the heaven spread 
like a veil over the earth. He 
is the same as the Hindu 
Varuna, and- both names 
have the root var, a veil. 

Vulcan. See Hephaestus. 

Wandering Rocks, Gr. Sym- 
plegades. The opening and 
closing of these rocks may 
point to a time when the 
Black Sea was infested witk 
icebergs stranded at the en- 
trance to the Bosphorus. 

Wing- God. See Eros. 

Zeus. The name is the same as 
Hindu Dyaus, the sky, which 
in Sanskr. is never personi- 
fied. As the supreme god of 
the Greeks Zeus corresponds 
with Hindu Indra. The Hin- 
du invocation Dyaus-Pitar 
answers to Greek Zeus pater; 
Lat. Jupiter. In Anglo- 
Saxon Zeus becomes Tiv, a 
name preserved in Tuesday. 
It is the high-German Tio. 
The same root appears in 
Greek Theos, and Lat. JDeus. 



/^X 



Classic Mythology, 



i. 

THE BEGINNING OF ALL THINGS. 

Long ago, in the beginning of time, there was nothing 
but a huge dark mass called Chaos. In this Chaos were 
hidden all things that now exist, the earth and the sky, 
light and darkness, fire and water, and everything else, 
but they were not yet severed one from the other, and 
were so mingled and confused that nothing had a 
separate form of its own. A£ter the Chaos had lasted 
for a long time it parted asunder, and the earth was 
divided from the heaven. The sun and the moon and 
the stars mounted up above into the sky, but the water 
and the stones and the trees liked better to remain 
below with the earth. 

There was a god in the sky called Uranus, and on 
earth there was a goddess called Graea. They became 
husband and wife, and trad several children, of whom 
six were ugly and twelve were beautiful. The ugly 
ones had, each of them, either a hundred arms, or else 
only one eye. Those who had a hundred arms had also 
fifty heads, and they were as big as mountains, and very 

B 



2 MYTHS OF HELLAS, 

frightful. The others had only one eye apiece, and it 
was placed in the middle of their foreheads and was as 
large as a cart wheel. But the beautiful brothers and 
sisters were formed like men, only they were much 
larger and grander. Six of them were gods, and were 
called Titans; there were also six goddesses, who were 
called Titanides. 

The gods lived on the summit of a very high mountain 
called Mount Olympus, which almost reached the sky, 
and Uranus was king over them all. He could not bear 
the sight of his hundred-armed and one-eyed children 
because they were so hideous, so he thrust them into a 
dark pit below the earth, called Tartarus, and would 
not let them come out of it again. But the mother 
Graea loved even her ugly children, and was angry with 
Uranus for banishing them into darkness and misery. 
And she said to her son Cronus, who was the youngest 
of the beautiful gods, that if he would promise to fetch 
up his hundred-armed and one-eyed brothers out of 
Tartarus, she would help him to dethrone Uranus and 
himself become king of the gods. Cronus promised 
that he would do this, and Graea created the bright 
cutting steel, and made with it a sharp sickle which 
she gave to her son, and told him to kill Uranus with 
it when he was asleep. Cronus did as she desired him, 
and thus Uranus lost his kingdom and his life. 

Cronus now ruled over the world in his father's 
stead, and the other gods had to obey him. He took 
one of the Titanides called Ehea, to be his wife, and 
made her the queen. He also fetched up his ugly 
brothers from Tartarus, but he soon became afraid of 
them and drove them back into the dark pit. The 



THE BEGINNING OF ALL THING-S. • 3 

mother Gaea now saw how. little she had gained by her 
treachery to her husband, and she told Cronus that 
he should lose his kingly power through one of his 
children just as Uranus had done. This frightened 
him so much that whenever Ehea had a child, he took 
it and swallowed it. He swallowed five of them in this 
way, and poor Ehea was very sad because she had no 
children left. Then Gaea told her, next time she 
had a child, to take a stone and wrap it in swaddling 
clothes and give it to Cronus to swallow as if it were 
the baby, but keep the real child in some safe place till 
it was grown up. Ehea did so, and Cronus swallowed 
the stone she gave him, thinking it was the little 
boy that had just been born, but Ehea hid the child in 
a, cave in the islfmd of Crete where a beautiful goat 
named Amalthea nourished him with her milk. And 
there were armed men there, who, whenever the baby 
cried, danced about and clashed their shields and spears 
together as if they were treading a war-dance for their 
own amusement, but it was really to prevent Cronus 
from hearing the crying. The boy was named Zeus, 
and in a year he was quite grown up, and was the most 
beautiful and most powerful of all the gods. When 
Cronus was asleep, Ehea used to go to the cave and 
talk to him. 

At last the time came when Zeus was to wage war 
against his father, and then Gaea gave her daughter 
Ehea a bowl containing a sweet medicine for Cronus 
to drink. Ehea went to her husband and said, ' The 
mother Gaea is no longer angry with you, and she has 
sent you this sweet drink.' Cronus took the bowl and 
drank it up ; it tasted very nice, but after he had 

B 2 



4 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

swallowed it he began to feel very uncomfortable, and 
presently be was sick. Then out came the stone and 
the children that he had swallowed, the youngest first, 
and the eldest last; there were two gods and three 
goddesses, and they were all quite grown up. The 
names of the gods were Poseidon and Pluto, and the 
names of the goddesses were Hera, Demeter, and 
Hestia. 

Then the young gods made war against the old ones, 
and they sent for the hundred-armed and one-eyed 
monsters out of Tartarus, that they might help them.' 
The One-eyed were very skilful at smith's work, and 
they were so grateful to Zeus for setting them free that 
they forged for him valuable weapons, thunder and light- 
ning. The old gods took their stand* on Mount Othrys, 
and the young ones on Mount Olympus, and between 
them was a wide far-stretching valley where they fought. 
When there was a battle the whole earth resounded 
at the tread of the gods. The Hundred-armed always 
threw a hundred pieces of rock at once, and Zeus hurled 
thunderbolt after thunderbolt, till the woods were in 
flames and the rivers boiled. The war lasted for ten years, 
but at last the young gods triumphed. They thrust 
their enemies into Tartarus, and set the Hundred-armed 
and the One-eyed to keep guard over them. 

Zeus was now the king of the gods, and he married 
his sister Hera and made her the queen. He also gave 
an empire to each of his brothers : all the sea was made 
subject to Poseidon, and Pluto became king of the 
Lower World, where the dead are. These gods had 
children, who were also gods, and had each their part 
in the government of the universe. The good goat 



THE BEGINNING OF ALL THIKGo. 5 

Amalthea was already dead, but Zeus honoured her by 
making one of her horns a wonder, which became 
famous all over the world. Whoever had it might wish 
for anything he liked to eat or drink, and immediately 
it was there ; and for this reason it was called the Horn 
of Plenty, because it produced in abundance everything 
that could be desired in the way of food. 

The mother Gaea had planned the overthrow of 
Cronus because he had driven back his hundred-armed 
and one-eyed brothers into Tartarus. But she found 
herself worse off than ever, for the only result of her 
revenge was that now her beautiful children were 
imprisoned instead of the ugly ones. This made her 
very angry with the young gods, and she could not bear 
to see them powerful and happy. So she brought into 
the world some hideous monsters to make war against 
the young gods. They were called Giants, and had 
enormous strength and dourage. They tore up masses 
of rock and dashed them up into the air till the vault 
of heaven rang again, but the gods only laughed at it, 
for the stones were powerless to hurt them by the time 
they had reached so great a height, and there was no 
mountain high enough for the Giants to climb from it 
to the top of Mount Olympus. 

>^ The Giants went on in this way for a long time, but 
they found that, do what they would, they could not 
inflict any injury upon the gods, and only got laughed 
at for their pains, so they^ resolved to try another 
plan. They made up their minds to build a ladder by 
which they might climb up to the abode of the gods, 
and they set to work to uproot a mountain called Ossa, 
and roll it on to the top of another mountain called 



6 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

Pelion. But whilst they were doing this, Zeus hurled 
a mighty thunderbolt against Ossa and made it fall 
down again, and the gods rushed down to the earth to 
fight the Giants, shouting their war-cry. The fight 
lasted for a whole day, for the Giants were very strong, 
but at last the gods gained the victory, and they 
crushed each of the Giants beneath a huge mountain, 
which did not kill him, but prevented his ever getting 
up again. One of them tried to escape over the Medi- 
terranean Sea, but the goddess Athene, who was the 
daughter of Zeus, tore off a great three-cornered piece 
of land and threw it after him. It hit him just as he 
was in the middle of the sea, and he fell down and was 
buried beneath it. After some time the land became 
covered with forests and cities, and it is now called the 
Island of Sicily. Every now and then the Giants turn 
on one side beneath their mountains, and then people 
say, 'It is an earthquake'; and sometimes they become 
quite furious with impatience, and then their fiery 
breath bursts through the mountains and puffs out 
molten iron and stones. 

After the Giants were conquered, Gaea created a 
truly terrific being, far worse than they had been. 
She brought him out of a great crack that she made 
in the earth, and she called her son Typhoeus and was 
quite pleased to see how hideous he was, for she 
thought that such a monstrous creature would surely 
be able to conquer the young gods. He could see 
over the tops of the highest mountains, and when he 
stretched out his hands they reached right round the 
world. He had a hundred heads, each of them with a 
different kind of voice, so that he could speak like a 



THE BEGINNING OF ALL THINGS. i 

man, bellow like a bull, roar like a lion, bark like a dog, 
and hiss like a snake. All the other gods were afraid of 
him and hid themselves, but Zeus armed himself with 
thunderbolts and went out to fight him. Typhoeus 
threw large masses of rock at him, and screamed with 
all his hundred mouths at once, but Zeus scorched him 
with lightning, till at last bright names burst out all over 
the giant's body. Then Typhoeus howled and dashed 
himself to the ground, rolling over and over to try and 
put out the flames, but he could not succeed in doing 
so, for Zeus went on hurling thunderbolts at him, and 
the trees all round became red hot. At last Gaea began 
to fear that the whole earth would melt, and so she 
seized Typhoeus and flung him down into Tartarus, 
where he died. 

After this Graea gave up fighting with the young 
gods, for she knew that they were stronger than she 
was, but it was a very long time before she really made 
friends with them. 



MYTHS OF HELLAS. 



II. 
THE GOLDEN AGE. 

It was during the time when Cronus was reigning 
over the gods that men were first created, and this was 
called the Grolden Age. In the Grolden Age it was 
always springtime, and beautiful flowers blossomed the 
whole year round in the woods and meadows. It was 
not necessary for men to labour at tilling the ground, 
for the earth brought forth of itself everything they 
could possibly require : apples and melons and grapes 
and other fruits grew wild everywhere, and in the brooks 
there flowed a delicious kind of water that tasted like 
milk. Men, too, were good and happy, and they all lived 
for a long time, for three hundred years and more, 
and they did not get old and grey, but always remained 
young. They had no need of houses, but lived out of 
doors with the beautiful earth for a carpet and the 
sky for a roof. Neither were there any distinctions 
such as we have now between rich and poor, or the 
upper and lower classes, but all were equal and lived 
together as friends. When they had lived for a long 
time and had had enough of life, they fell into a deep 
sleep and never woke again : that was their death. 

The Grolden Age came to an end at last, but those 
who had lived during that time became guardian 
spirits who still wander unseen over the earth and are 
kind to us who are now alive, 



Ill 

PROMETHEUS AND EPIMETHEUS 

After the Golden Age was over, the world went on just 
as it does now; summer and winter followed each 
other, and there were times of bad weather as well as 
of bright sunshine ; there were also many people who 
had not everything they wanted, but were obliged to 
struggle against hunger and cold and other evils. 
But they were happy and contented, and had still a 
spark of the god-like spirit left in them, so that under 
the pressure of need they learnt all kinds of useful 
arts. 

There were two brothers of the race of the gods, whose 
father had been a Titan and had fought against Zeus. 
These brothers were kind to men and lived among 
them ; one of them was called Prometheus, or the Fore- 
thinker, because he was always looking forward and 
planning, for the future ; and the other was called Epi- 
metheus, or the Afterthinker, because he never thought 
seriously about things till they had already taken place. 
Zeus had not gifted men with fire, but Prometheus 
foresaw that by the help of fire they would be able to 
melt the hard iron and forge many useful tools and 
weapons w T hich would add to their comfort. So he 
begged Zeus to give it to them, but Zeus said, ' They 
will become too clever, and at last they will think 



10 MYTHS OS HELLAS. 

themselves equal to the gods.' Prometheus thought it 
would be a noble thing to scorn the anger of Zeus and 
bring down fire to the earth in order to benefit man- 
kind, and though he knew that Zeus would punish 
him severely for doing so, he was willing to bear that. 
He took a reed in which there was a great deal of pith 
of the same kind that still grows in warm countries and 
is used for fuel, and he climbed up to the sun with 
this reed in his hand, and held it in the blaze till it 
caught fire and burned like tinder. Then he came 
down to earth again, and made a fire which gave out 
warmth and a clear blaze, so that all men wondered at 
it. And when it was dark Zeus looked down upon the 
earth. There appeared to be a great many stars there, 
but the lights which he saw were not stars, — they were 
the flickering fires that men had kindled, and Zeus 
knew it, and was very, very angry. 

Now at that time there were no such things as 
diseases and cares among men, so Zeus resolved to 
send them these unwelcome guests, because they had 
obtained fire against his will. The god Hephaestus 
fashioned a marvellously beautiful woman out of clay, 
and Zeus gave life to her, and the other gods endowed 
her with many of those gifts that call forth the love of 
men. They gave her goodly gifts indeed — good-nature, 
pleasant speech, and skill in many arts, but no one 
gave her an honourable, straightforward mind. The 
gods called her Pandora, or the All-gifted, because 
they had all brought her some gift. Hermes, the 
messenger of the gods, took her to Epimetheus and 
said, 'Zeus sends this beautiful woman to be your 
wife.' Prometheus had warned his brother no r to 



PROMETHEUS AND EPIMETHEUS. 11 

accept any gift from Zeus, because he knew that he 
would act treacherously, but when Epimetheus saw the 
lovely woman, he forgot that she had come from Zeus 
and took her home to live with him. Pandora showed 
him a golden casket which she said contained her 
dowry, and as he was very anxious to see the precious 
jewels he expected to find in it, he begged her to open 
it. But when she had taken off the lid, instead of 
any jewels, there were a number of winged figures in- 
side with corpse-like faces who struggled out and flew 
about all over the world : these were the diseases and 
cares that Zeus had said he would send. They fly into 
the houses of men and nestle beside them without 
any one being able to see or hear them come in. Even 
now it often happens that when a man is seated at 
dinner with his guests, well and happy, one of the 
diseases flies in without any one knowing it, and in 
the night it seizes upon him and puts an end to all his 
enjoyment. Zeus had meant to send into the world a 
still worse fellow, called Foreboding, so that men might 
know all their troubles beforehand, and thus lose all 
pleasure in life. Foreboding was in the casket with 
the others, but when Pandora took off the lid, he was 
in such a hurry to get out that his wings caught in 
the inner edge of the casket, and when Pandora shut 
down the lid again she did not see that he was left 
behind. If Foreboding had come into the world, every 
one would have known in childhood of the diseases ana 
troubles in store for him in his old age, and would 
thus have lost all his s.pirits, even in his days of 
health. 

Thus did Zeus punish men by sending disease and 



12 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

care among them ; but for Prometheus, who had taken 
the fire to them, he reserved a far severer punishment. 
He commanded two gods to carry him to Mount Cau- 
casus, and the god Hephaestus, who was an excellent 
smith, bound him to a rock with strong iron chains so 
that he could neither move hand nor foot; but Heph- 
aestus did so very unwillingly, for it seemed to him 
that Prometheus had done a great and god-like thing 
in braving the wrath of Zeus. Every morning a huge 
eagle came and pecked open the body of Prometheus 
and ate his liver, and every night the liver grew again 
and the body healed over it. Prometheus suffered in- 
expressible agon}-, but he never would beg for mercy 
from Zeus nor say that he was sorry for having brought 
down the fire, for he was still of the same mind" 
about it. 

But after many years had passed, there came a 
great hero named Heracles, who shot the eagle with 
his bow and arrow and delivered Prometheus. Pro- 
metheus was now free, but he was still obliged to wear 
an iron ring on his finger to remind him of his punish- 
ment, and from that time it has always been the cus- 
tom for people to wear rings as reminders. 



13 




IV, 

DEUCALION AXD PYRRHA. 

After disease and care had come into the world, men 
became unkind and unfriendly ; instead of peace there 
was now constant war, and murder and theft were more 
common every day. The gods were much displeased 
at these crimes, and Zeus said he would destroy the 
whole race of men by a great flood. There were, how- 
ever, one man and one woman, Deucalion and Pyrrha, 
who took no part in the crimes that were committed, 
but who lived peacefully and uprightly, fearing the 
gods. Deucalion was the son of Prometheus, who knew 
everything that the gods had resolved upon though he 
was chained to Mount Caucasus, and when the great 
flood was about to take place, he advised Deucalion to 
provide against it by building a chest that could float 
on the water, so that when the flood began, he and his 
wife, might take shelter in it. 

Then a mighty rain poured down from heaven 
which lasted for nine days and nine nights. The 
\ alleys were soon filled with water, and the people fled 
for safety to the tops of the highest mountains ; but 
the flood rose higher and higher till at last the waves 
washed right over the mountains, so that the people 
perished miserably in the water. The great chest 



14 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

floated about on the top of the waves, and Deucalion and 
Pyrrha who were safely shut up inside it, could hear 
the pouring rain and the cries of the drowning people. 
When they were all drowned, the rain ceased and the 
waters began to abate, and on the next day the bottom 
of the chest grated against dry land. Then Deucalion 
burst it open, and he and Pyrrha came out into the 
sunshine, but all they could see was a wide stretch of 
sea with only the tops of the highest mountains 
standing out above it. The mountain where the chest 
had stranded was called Parnassus, and was specially 
dedicated to the gods. Before this time Zeus had 
once wanted to know where the middle of the earth was, 
and had let fly two doves at the same moment from the 
two ends of the world to see where they would meet : 
they met on Mount Parnassus, and thus it was proved 
beyond a doubt, that this mountain must be the centre 
of the earth. 

Deucalion and Pyrrha were now the only ones re- 
maining of the whole human race, and it was on ac- 
count of their piety that Zeus had allowed them to 
save themselves instead of destroying them with the 
others. The waters abated until they no longer covered 
the earth, and then the grass and flowers and trees 
bloomed forth again as they do in spring, and Zeus 
sent Hermes, the messenger of the gods, to tell Deuca- 
lion and Pyrrha that they might ask for anything they 
pleased, and he would grant it. They determined to 
ask that there might again be men on the earth, and 
Hermes told them to go into the valley where there 
were a great many stones lying, and to take up the 
stones and throw them over their shoulders. They did 



DKUCALION AND PYKRHA. 15 

so, and this was what happened : every stone that Deuca- 
lion threw became a man, and every stone that Pyrrha 
threw became a woman. Deucalion was their king, 
and he taught them to cultivate the land, and many 
other useful arts. And after some time had passed 
the whole earth was filled with people as before, and 
no one would have known that the great Flood had ever 
taken place. 



16 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 



THE EAPE OF PERSEPHONE. 

The goddess Demeter had a daughter named Perse- 
phone, who lived in the island of Sicily. Her mother 
had given her several maidens to be her plaj^fellows, 
and she herself often came down from Mount Olympus 
to see her daughter. The maidens played and danced 
together, or wandered about over the hills and valleys 
looking for beautiful flowers, and were as happy as the 
days were long. One day whilst they were all scattered 
about looking for flowers, it happened that Persephone 
strayed away from the others and was quite alone. 
Then suddenly the earth opened beside her, and out of 
it there came a chariot drawn by fierce coal-black 
horses, in which was a man with a pale face and a 
black beard and a golden circlet round his hair. He 
put out his hand and took hold of the beautiful Per- 
sephone, and drew her into the chariot beside him. 
She screamed out to her companions, but it was of no 
use, for the man with the pale face and the black 
beard held her fast, and the horses ran like • lightning 
till very soon they had disappeared under the earth 
and she could no longer be seen or heard. Her com- 
panions had heard her cries and they ran to look for 



THE RAPE OF PERSEPHONE. 17 

her, but they could not tell what had become of 
her. 

Now when Demeter found that her daughter had 
been carried off she was very much distressed, and she 
lighted a torch and wandered all over the world trying 
to find her. She lit up every cranny and cavern with 
her torch, and climbed all the highest mountains, asking 
gods and men if they had seen her child, but no trace 
of her could she find. 

I must tell you that the pale dark man was the god 
Pluto, the king of the Lower World. It was so dismal 
down there that no woman would consent to be his 
wife, so he made up his mind to carry off the beautiful 
Persephone by force, and Zeus had given him leave to 
do this, but he did not tell Demeter about it. Demeter 
wandered about for a whole year, growing every day 
sadder and sadder, till at last the sun-god, Helios, 
took pity on her. Helios could see everything that 
happened on the earth, and he had been looking on 
-when Pluto ran away with Persephone, so he told 
Demeter that her daughter was in the Lower World, 
and that the gods knew all about it and allowed it. 
Then Demeter was angry with Zeus and the other 
gods for having given her so much pain, and she 
refused to live with them any longer, but remained on 
earth among men. 

The gods were sorry for this, for they honoured and 
loved Demeter, so after a little while Zeus proposed 
that a council of all the gods should be held, and that 
they should judge between Demeter and Pluto. A day 
was appointed, and they all came together, Demeter 
and Pluto among the rest ; and it was decided that if 

C 



18 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

Perseplione had as yet eaten nothing since she left the 
earth she should return to her mother, but that other- 
wise she should remain in the Lower World. Now 
Persephone had been so sad in the Lower World that 
during all this time she had neither eaten nor drunk 
anything but once. This was one day when, as she was 
walking by the side of the river that flows through the 
Lower World and -came to some pomegranate trees 
laden with beautiful red fruit, she plucked a pome- 
granate and ate it ; and Pluto told this in the assembly 
of the gods, hoping that it would make good his claim 
to keep her. But the gods decreed that as she had 
eaten nothing but a pomegranate in the Lower World 
she should not remain there altogether, but only for a 
third of the year, and that during the remaining two 
thirds she should be allowed to live on the earth. So 
it was arranged in this way: as long as the ears of 
corn were below the ground, Persephone had to remain 
in the Lower World with her husband, but as soon as 
the blades appeared above the soil, she too came up 
into the sunlight to her mother. 

At this time corn was already growing upon the 
earth, for Demeter had created it for the use of men, 
and she often wore a wreath of wheat-ears round her 
head. But when she was wandering over the earth 
looking for her daughter, she found that no one under- 
stood the best means of making it grow, and as she 
knew that men would be more peaceful and friendly if 
they cultivated the ground and surrounded themselves 
with beautiful plants, she determined to teach them 
how to do so. Demeter loved all men, but most of 
all a man named Triptolemus, and she gave him a 



THE RAPE OF PERSEPHONE. 19 

chariot drawn by two winged dragons, and put into his 
hand a quantity of corn, which she told him to strew 
over the earth. Triptolemus flew through the air in his 
chariot, scattering the grains of corn as he went ; and 
then there fell a gentle rain which made them sink 
into the ground, so that they became firmly rooted, 
and soon shot forth little blades. The people were 
much pleased when the corn grew up and ripened, and 
Triptolemus taught them all that he had learnt from 
Demeter about the best way of cultivating it and turn- 
iug it to good account. Soon there were fields of waving 
corn all over the earth, and instead of always going out 
hunting, men tilled the ground and waited for the 
harvest. When it was ripe, they raised altars of earth 
and green grass, and laid the fresh ears upon them as 
a thank-offering to the gods for having sent rain and 
sunshine to make the corn grow. Demeter especially 
was held in great honour, and they prayed to her when 
they sowed their crops. 



20 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 



VI. 

MARPESSA. 

There was once a king of Greece named Evenus. who 
had a beautiful daughter called Marpessa. There was 
also a brave and noble hero called Idas, and he came 
one day to the king and asked him to let him have 
Marpessa for his wife. Marpessa would have been 
quite willing to agree to this, but the old king was 
very selfish, and he said that he would not let his 
daughter leave him to marry anyone. » So Idas had to 
go away with a heavy heart, but the sea-god Poseidon 
was his friend, and he gave him a wonderful chariot 
in which to carry off the beautiful Marpessa by stealth. 
The chariot was drawn by very swift horses, and it had 
wings on both sides which flapped as the horses ran, 
so that nothing on earth could go faster than this 
chariot. 

One clay when Marpessa went to the well to draw 
water, she found Idas waiting there for her in the 
winged chariot, and she got up beside him and drove 
away. The old king saw them go, and he was very angry 
and said that he would fetch back Marpessa and kill 
Idas. He had the swiftest team of horses in the whole 
country, and he drove them furiously along the track 
of the other chariot, but even at their utmost speed 



MARPESSA. 21 

(hey could not go fast enough to please liim. At last 
he came to a river, and then he knew that it was hope- 
less to pursue his daughter and Idas any further, and 
he stabbed the horses and broke the chariot to pieces, 
and then he threw himself into the river and was 
drowned. 

Idas was far on in front, and he thought there was 
no fear now of anyone attempting to interfere between 
him and the beautiful Marpessa. But there was a 
mighty god named Apollo," who loved Marpessa, and 
was not willing that Idas should have her for his wife, 
for he wanted to marry her himself. He was very 
beautiful in face and in form, and had the appearance of 
a youth just reaching the age of manhood. He was 
the brother of Artemis, the goddess of the woods, and 
carried a bow of pure silver, while round his neck there 
hung a golden quiver full of arrows, and he could 
always hit whatever he aimed at, even if it were many 
miles off. He came and seized the horses' bridle, and 
said to Idas that he must either give up the maiden or 
else fight with him. Idas was very brave and was 
always quite ready to fight, and he at once jumped 
down from the chariot and prepared to begin the 
struggle. But at that moment there fell a thunderbolt 
on the ground between them, and they heard the voice 
of Zeus calling to them, and saying, ' The maiden shall 
decide.' 

So Marpessa had to choose between a god and a 
hero, and she looked down and thought for a mo- 
ment. Then she raised her eyes and held out her 
hand to Idas, and said, * When I am old, you will be old 
also, and will honour me and take care of me, but 



22 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

Apollo always remains young, and in my old age he 
would thrust me away and would take another wife.' 
So Marpessa made her choice and preferred to marry 
the hero Idas, and Apollo had to go away without 
her. 



23 



VII. 

ARTEMIS. 

Artemis was the goddess of the woods. She was the 
daughter of Zeus and of the goddess Leto, who had 
gone through many troubles before Artemis was born. 
For Zeus had married the beautiful Leto secretly, and 
when Hera heard of it she was very angry, and drove 
her away from Mount Olympus. Leto took shelter on 
the earth, but Hera commanded the earth to deny her 
rest, and whenever she lay down it began to tremble 
under her and quaked horribly. She fled like a 
hunted deer from one end of the world to the other, 
till after long wanderings she came to the floating 
island of Delos- over which the earth had no power, 
and here at last she could rest. The island was not 
fixed to the bottom of the sea, and the waves played 
roughly with it and tossed it about, so the sea-god 
Poseidon, who was sorry for Leto, caused four granite 
pillars to spring up and hold it fast, and ever since 
that time it has stood perfectly still. Leto bad two 
children, a boy and a girl, and Zeus named them Apollo 
and Artemis. After the children were born, Hera be- 
came kinder, and allowed Leto to come back to Mount 



24' MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

Olympus, and desired the earth to give her rest wher- 
ever she wished. The island of Delos was ever after- 
wards held in great esteem by the Greeks, and they 
came from long distances in beautifully decked ships 
to honour the island by offering sacrifices upon it. 

Artemis was a glorious goddess, and she chose the 
woods for her dominion, and the chase for her occupa- 
tion. She delighted in wandering through the forests 
with the nymphs who attended her, killing wolves and 
wild-boars. But she was kind to the tame animals 
that she met, and stroked and petted them. Her 
favourite creatures were some beautiful hinds, and she 
punished anyone who killed them. Artemis towered a 
head above all her nymphs, and she was also easily to 
be recognised by her godlike beauty, and by her 
golden bow and quiver of golden arrows. In the even- 
ing she often laid aside her weapons and danced in the 
moonlight with her maidens ; their light footsteps did 
not even bend the grass, only the next morning, traces 
of them could be seen in the dew. Often too, when 
the chase led them past a clear forest lake overshadowed 
by sweet-smelling trees, they undressed and bathed in 
the pleasant pool, and the nymphs splashed about in 
the water and had all kinds of games. Artemis did not 
marry, for she said she would neither be the wife of 
a god nor of a man, but wonld always have her home 
in the forest among her nymphs. 

There was once a hunter named Actaeon, who loved 
hunting better than anything else, and who honoured 
Artemis, the goddess of the chase, above all other gods 
and goddesses. He had fifty splendid hounds who 
were very fond of their master, and in the morning 



AKTEMIS. 2o 

wlien he came out of his house they used to crowd 
round him barking for joy and licking his hands; he 
had given each of them a special name, and he patted 
them and talked to them as if they could understand 
him. They always went out hunting with him, and 
chased the wild animals which he shot with his arrows. 
One day Actaeon was out hunting, and it was so hot 
that about noon he gave his dogs a rest and let them 
go to sleep, whilst he himself strolled about among the 
cool bushes looking for a spring where he might quench 
his thirst. Presently he heard a splashing of water 
and the laughter of maidens' voices, and going a little 
nearer, he pushed aside the branch of a tree and beheld 
the glorious goddess and her nymphs in the bath. He 
could not turn away his eyes, and for a little while 
Artemis did not notice him, but when^ she looked up 
and saw the hunter who had so forgotten himself, her 
eyes filled with anger at his having dared to watch her. 
She raised her beautiful hand, and in a moment Actaeon 
was changed into a stag with long light feet and branch- 
ing horns, but still able to think like a man. He 
shuddered and rushed away to the place where he had 
left his dogs ; they awoke, but they did not know him, 
and gave chase to him. He tried to make them under- 
stand by looking back and calling to them, but no 
words would come out of his mouth, only a sound like 
the cry of a stag, and at last they overtook him and 
tore him to pieces. Thus he was miserably killed by 
his own dogs, as a punishment for not having turned 
away his eyes when he came upon the severe goddess 
at her bath. The dogs wandered for a long time 
through the forest looking for their master, pining 



26 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

because they could not find him, and refusing to eat. 
But, there was a skilled artist who took pity on them, 
and he made an image of clay so exactly like Actaeon, 
that the dogs thought it was their master himself, and 
were comforted. 



27 



VIII. 

THE GIANTS OTUS AND EPHIALTES. 

There was once a woman who had so great a love for 
the sea that she was never tired of looking at it. One 
day, as she was sitting on the shore, the god Poseidon 
came driving over the waves in his chariot, for the sea 
was subject to him. When he saw the beautiful woman 
who was gazing at it so tenderly, a great love for her 
sprang up in his heart, and he took her to be his wife. 
Some time afterwards she had two children, called Otus 
and Ephialtes and by the time they were a year old 
they were two yards in height and a yard in width. 
Every year the children grew two yards in height and a 
yard in width, so that when they were nine years old 
they were so big and strong that they could tear up the 
largest oak trees and break them in two across their 
knees. But they were ignorant and foolish, and instead 
of honouring the gods, they made a silly plan to get up 
to Mount Olympus, where the gods lived, and overturn 
everything that they had arranged, They settled that 
Hera, the queen of the gods, should be the wife of Otus, 
and that Artemis, the goddess of the woods, should be 
the wife of Ephialtes, and that the other gods should bo 
loaded with chains and imprisoned in dark caves ; and 
they said they would change everything on the earth, 



28 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

and throw all the mountains into the sea till it was 
choked up, and then make rivers flow where there had 
been land before. 

The gods could hear this foolish talk, for the giants' 
voices were as loud as the. most tremendous gale, and 
Ares, the god of war, armed himself and went out to 
fight them. But the giants were stronger than he, and 
they fastened him to the ground with two iron rings 
round his body, attached to chains which they held in 
their hands and pulled whenever he tried to get up, so 
that he could not move without great pain. They gave 
him nothing to eat or drink, and at mid-day the sun 
beat down upon his face and scorched him with its heat. 
None of the gods dared to try and free Ares by force, so 
Zeus commanded Hermes, the Messenger, to get him 
away by stealth. Hermes was the most cunning of all 
the gods, and at night, when the giants were asleep, he 
went and drew Ares out of the iron rings so cautiously 
that they made no noise, and the giants did not awake. 
The two gods then ran away, and the next morning 
the giants saw that their rings were empty, which 
made them very angry. 

They went on for some time in their old way, boast- 
ing of all the wonderful things they were going to do, 
till one day the goddess Artemis changed herself into 
a little white doe. The giants were lying in the forest 
side by side, with their great hunting spears in their 
hands, when the little doe came running out of the 
wood and passed right between them. They both 
raised their spears at the same moment and threw them 
at her, but she was so swift that they did not hit her, — 
instead of that each giant was stabbed by his brother's 
spear, and they both bled to death. 



29 



IX. 

ENDYMION. 

As long as Zeus was with the gods on Mount Olympus, 
Hera, the queen of the gods, was his wife, but from 
time to time he came to live on the earth for a little 
while, and then he married a noble and beautiful 
woman who was his wife whilst he remained among 
men. 

Once Zeus married a very beautiful princess whom 
he loved dearly, and they had a little boy named 
Endymion. When Endymion had grown up to be a 
young man, his father told him that he might wish for 
whatever he liked and he would grant it. Endymion 
might have chosen to become a mighty king, but he 
had no desire for anything of the sort. Instead of that, 
his wish was that he might go to sleep and never wake 
again, but always have pleasant dreams. And Zeus 
granted him what he asked. There was a lonely valley 
which no one ever came near. Soft green grass grew there, 
and sweet-smelling flowers, and there were shady trees, 
with birds singing and making their nests among the 
branches, and a brook flowing through it that chattered 
pleasantly night and day. Endymion lay down under 
a tree beside the brook and went to sleep, and he never 
grew any older, but slept on for ever, dreaming happily, 
immortal like the gods. 



30 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

Now there was a mild-, gentle goddess, the goddess 
of the moon, whose name was Selene. As she passed 
along the heaven with the little scars by her -side, she 
used to look down upon Endymion lying asleep, and 
she gazed at the beautiful son of Zeus until she felt a 
deep love for him spring up in her heart, so that he was 
continually in her thoughts. She shed her softest and 
mildest rays upon him, and then Endymion dreamt 
more happily than ever. It was like no other love, for 
she could neither speak to him nor caress him, she 
could only look at him from a distance ; but she has 
always remained true to him, and has never loved 
another as she loved the sleeping Endymion. 



31 



10. 

There was once a princess named Io, whose father was 
king of the town of Argos, in Greece. Zeus loved Io be- 
cause she was fair and gentle, and he often came down 
to earth in order to be with her. But Hera was angry 
with Zeus for going away from her, and one day when 
he went to see the beautiful Io, she followed him. 
Then Zeus changed Io into a white cow, and pretended 
that he had only come to look at the cow. But Hera 
knew it was Io, and she begged him so earnestly to 
make her a present of the cow that he could not refuse. 
Hera gave the white cow into the charge of the watch- 
man Argus, who had a hundred eyes that slept by 
turns so that half of them were always on the watch. 
He took her to a sacred grove and tied her to an olive 
tree, and then he climbed a little hill that was close 
by, and sat there day and night watching her. Io ate 
grass and flowers, when she was hungry, but she was 
very sad and lowed mournfully, for she longed to see 
her father and her playfellows again. 

After some time Zeus commanded the crafty god 
Hermes to steal away the cow, and Hermes went into 
(he wood and began to play upon the shepherd's flute. 
Argus called him to his side for the playing pleased 



32 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

him well, so Hermes came and played all his most 
beautiful tunes, whilst Argus stretched himself out on 
the grass and enjoyed himself more than he had ever 
done in his life before. Then all the hundred eyes fell 
asleep at once, and Hermes took a sharp sickle and cut 
off his head. After that he loos.ed the cow, and was 
preparing to take her home to her father, but Hera, 
who had seen what he had done, was very angry, 
and she came down and commanded him to let go the 
cow. As Hera was mightier than he, Hermes was 
obliged to obey, and then Hera made a great insect as 
large as a bat, wilich buzzed horribly and tormented Io. 
She ran away in order to try and escape from it, but it 
pursued her all over the country, and even though she 
swam across a wide sea and went on through the 
country on the further side, still the insect kept flying 
round and round her and gave her no peace. For a 
whole year she fled from it, till at last when she had 
reached the land of Egypt in Africa she was so tired 
that she could go no further. Hera was just then 
asleep, and Zeus was able to come quickly down and 
kill the horrible gad-fly ; then he stroked the back of 
the cow with his hand and she received back her 
human form, but she was pale and wasted, and not so 
beautiful as before. After this she remained in Egypt 
where the people of the country were good to her, but 
Hera was even more unkind than before, and when 
after a time Io had a little son, she caused the child to 
be stolen from her. Then Io was again in great 
distress, and she set out to seek for her child. She 
journeyed from morning to night without stopping, 
and she had gone through the whole country without 



10. 33 

being able to find it and was beginning to be terribly 
afraid that it must have perished, when someone 
told her that Hera had given it to a queen in the 
land of Syria to take care of. It was a long way off, 
and the journey was full of danger on account of rob- 
bers and wild beasts, .but Io set off at once for the land 
of Syria, and when she got there, the queen gave back 
the child to her. 

After this, Hera left off persecuting Io, and the 
King of Egypt asked her to be his wife and made her 
the queen. But she could never forget her past 
troubles, and as often as she saw a white cow, she 
thought of how she too had once been a cow, and had 
eaten grass and flowers. 



34 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 



XI. 

DANAUS AND AEGYPTUS. 

There were once two kings, called Danaus and Aegyptus, 
who were brothers, and whose dominions lay side by 
side. They lived in Africa, and were descended from 
Io, who had now been dead a long time. Aegyptus 
had fifty sons, and Danaus had fifty daughters. But 
the sons of Aegyptus were wicked men, and they tried 
to kill their uncle ; so Danaus built a great ship with 
fifty oars, and when it was ready, he and his fifty 
daughters got into it and sailed away ; each daughter 
took an oar, and Danaus steered. They sailed far 
away over the sea till they came to the country of 
Argos in Greece, where the father of Io had been king. 
The Argives (as the people of Argos were called)'^ 
wondered when they saw the ship with the old man 
and the fifty maidens in it, but they received thenl ; 
kindly and gave them a large piece of land to live uponij* 
and also a herd of fine cattle. Danaus tilled the ground^, 
and his daughters took care of the cattle. Danaus wa$ 
very wise, and he gave the Argives much good counsel, '' 
till at last they wished he could be their king. jjBxit 
they had a king already, who though he was not nearly 
so wise as Danaus, had a great many soldiers to fight 



DANAUS AND AEGYPTUS. 35 

for him, and he ;was by no means willing to give up 
the kingdom. This led to many disputes among the 
people, and a civil war had nearly broken out, when it 
happened that the king, and Danaus, and many of the . 
Argives, were assembled one day in a field where there 
were a number of sheep and cattle feeding, and all at 
once a great wolf rushed out of the forest, who, passing 
by the sheep and cows, ran straight at the great bull 
that belonged to the flock and tore him to pieces. 
The Argives felt sure that this must be a sign from 
heaven, for never before had a wolf been able to kill a 
strong bull. And there was a soothsayer among them 
who declared that as the bull had been overcome by the 
wolf, so would the king be overcome by Danaus and 
deprived of his kingdom. When the king heard that, 
he was afraid that he might lose his life as well as his 
dominions, and he fled hastily out of the country. 

So Danaus became king, and lived in the beautiful 
palace with his daughters. His brother's sons heard 
that he was king of Argos, and that his daughters were 
beautiful maidens, and they thought they would like to 
be reconciled to their uncle and to have their cousins for 
their wives. So they built a ship like the one that 
Danaus had sailed away in, and came to Argos, and 
when they arrived there, they said to their uncle that 
they desired to be at peace with him, and begged him to 
give them his daughters in marriage. Danaus agreed to 
do so, and he called his daughters together and allotted 
one of them to each brother. A few days afterwards 
the wedding was celebrated with the greatest mag- 
nificence, and many sacrifices were offered to the gods. 
But Danaus took his daughters aside and gave to each 

» 2 



36 MYTHS Of. HELL AS. 

one a shining dagger, telling her to hide it in her dress . 
and kill her husband with 'it when he was asleep. 
That night the fifty princes slept in fifty chambers and 
their wives with them, and about midnight each wife 
took out her dagger and stabbed her husband with it. 
The only one who did not do so was Hypermnestra, the 
most beautiful of all ; she was married to one of the 
brothers named Lynceus, who was not wicked like the 
rest, but noble and brave, and Hypermnestra awoke him 
and said, ' Thy brothers have been killed by their wives, 
prepare to flee for thy life.' She gave him an unlighted 
torch, and told him, when he reached the mountain near 
the city, to light it and hold it up in the air, so that she 
might know that he had not been seized by the king's 
soldiers, but had been able to make his escape. She 
led him out of the palace and pointed out to him the 
direction in which he was to go ; then she ascended to 
the roof, which, like all the roofs of the Greek houses, 
was not sloping like ours, but flat, so that people could 
walk upon it. Hypermnestra remained there for a 
long time with her eyes fixed on the mountain before 
any light appeared, but at last she saw a little flame 
which came from the torch, and then she knew that 
Lynceus was safe. Then she went down again with a 
brave heart, though she had good reason to fear that 
her father would be very angry. 

The next morning, Hypermnestra's sisters came to 
Danaus, each holding in her hand the bloody head of 
her husband which she had seized by the hair, and 
Danaus praised them for what they had done; but 
when he asked Hypermnestra why she had not also 
brought him a bloody head, she said, ' I have helped 



DANAUS AND AEGYPTUS. 37 

Lynceus to escape.' Now Hypermnestra was the king's 
favourite daughter, but he was so angry with her for 
having disobeyed him, that he struck her and pushed 
her away from him, and said that she should be tried 
publicly, and shut up meanwhile in a dark under- 
ground dungeon, as if she had been guilty of some 
crime. He called together all the old wise men in 
the land to be her judges, and they came and sat in 
the market-place to pass sentence. Danaus declared 
that whatever they decided on should be certainly 
carried out, and when the judges asked him if .he 
would indeed abide by what they said, he swore that 
even if they condemned Hypermnestra to death, the 
sentence should be executed. The beautiful Hyperm- 
nestra was led into the market-place by the king's 
spearmen, and the judges questioned her. Then they 
consulted together and found that they were all agreed, 
and they said, ' What Hypermnestra deserves is that 
she be the king's best-beloved daughter, and that 
Lynceus come back and be the king's son-in-law.' 
That did not please Danaus, for he wished to have 
Hypermnestra punished, but because of his oath, he 
was obliged to let her go free a^id live in the palace as 
before. He also made a sacred treaty with Lynceus, 
and he came back to be the husband of Hypermnestra. 
As ]ong as Danaus lived, he was next to him in power 
and wealth, and after the death of his father-in-law, he 
succeeded him as king of Argos. 

The other daughters of Danaus, who had killed their 
husbands, were held in greater esteem by their father, 
but the gods caused them to die early, and when they 
came into the Lower World, they inflicted on them a 



38 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

never-ending punishment. There was a stream of 
rushing water, close to which a great vessel had been 
placed, and each of the Danaides, or daughters of 
Danaus, was given a bucket and commanded to fill the 
vessel with water from the stream, and was told that 
she was never to stop pouring in the water till the 
vessel was quite full. The Danaides did as they were 
required, but the vessel was full of holes, so that as fast 
as they tried to fill it, the water ran back again into the 
stream, and though they did their utmost by pouring 
it in as fast as possible, it was of no use,: — they were 
never able to accomplish their task, and were obliged to 
go toiling on at it in vain for ever. 



89 



XII. 

PHAETHON. 

Helios was the sun-god, and he used to drive along 
the sky in his shining chariot, drawn by four milk-white 
horses who bathed themselves every evening in the 
great stream Oceanus, that flows right round the world. 
As he looked down from the sky, he saw a beautiful 
woman whom he loved, and longed to have for his wife, 
so he came down to the earth and was married 'to her, 
and they had a son named Phaethon. WhenPhaethon 
was a. little boy, his mother used to point up to the sky 
where his father was, and teach him to throw up kisses 
to him. As he grew up to be a young man he was 
distinguished from all others by his brave spirit and 
remarkable beauty, but though it was evident that he 
was the son of a god, there were many people who, 
because they were jealous of him, tried to vex him by 
saying that this was not really the case. This made 
him very anxious to show that Helios was in truth his 
father, and he resolved to find some means of proving 
it beyond a doubt. So he set out for the stream 
Oceanus, and when Helios brought his horses therein 
the evening he was rejoiced to find his son waiting for 
him, and he kissed him many times. Then he asked 
him if he had any special reason for taking such a long 



40 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

journey in order to see him, and Phaethon said it was 
because he had something to ask him, which he longed 
for more than anything else in the world. Heiios 
promised to grant his wish, never suspecting what it 
was, and to please Phaethon, he even sealed the 
promise by his oath as a god that he would give him 
whatever he should ask. The gods swore by the xiver 
Styx which flowed through the Lower World, and any- 
one who ventured to break that oath had to suffer a 
severe punishment,— for nine years he had to lie on the 
ground as if he were dead, and for nine years after- 
wards he was shut out from the company of the *ther 
gods. So when Helios had confirmed his promu * by 
this solemn oath, Phaethon was full of joy, and he i lid 
that his wish was that on the following day he might 
be allowed to take his father's place in .driving th^ 
chariot of the sun. Helios was terrified at his audacity, 
and he told him that this was what no mortal could do 
and that he must give up all thought of such a thing. 
But Phaethon was light-hearted, and he delighted in 
danger and thought he could accomplish anything he 
pleased, however hard it might be. He thought too, that 
if he had once driven the chariot of the sun and could 
tell people of all he had seen whilst he was doing this, 
everyone would be ready to acknowledge that he was 
indeed the son of Helios. So he would not give up his 
wish, and as Helios had sworn* by the Styx, he was 
obliged to grant it, though he felt sure that it would be 
the death of the boy. The next morning the fiery 
horses were harnessed as usual, and Phaethon clambered 
up into the shining chariot, more proud and happy than 
he had ever been in his life. The horses flew along 



PHAETHON. 41 

the usual path, and Phaethon, looking down, could see 
the trees and houses and rivers on the earth. As long 
as he was near the earth he was very happy, but when 
they had got higher than eagles can fly, his head began 
to swim, and the horses soon found out that it was not 
Helios who was guiding them with his godlike wisdom, 
and they refused to obey the rein and keep in the right 
path, but flew up and down just as they pleased. First 
they went too near the heaven, and then they flew 
down lower and came too near the earth ; and the flowers 
withered and the streams dried up, and it became so 
hot that the mountains began to melt. As they passed 
over Africa they came so near to the earth that all the 
people of the land were burnt black by the heat of the 
sun, and the black colour continued in their children 
and grandchildren, so that they were given the name 
of Moors, or black people. The goddess Gaea, who was 
queen of the earth, saw the trees and flowers and 
springs perishing miserably from the fierce blaze of the 
sun, and she begged Zeus not to let the earth be 
destroyed. Then Zeus took a thunderbolt and hurled 
it at Phaethon, who fell dead from the chariot. Helios 
saw it with deep sorrow. He rushed forward and seized 
the reins and guided the chariot back into the right 
path, but for many days after this the heaven was 
covered with black clouds, and the sun-god would not 
let his face be seen. 



42 MYTHS OF HELLAS, 



XILL 

SALMONEUS AND SISYPHUS. 

There was a country of Greece called Elis, and there 
was once a king of Elis named Salmoneus, whom the 
gods favoured in all manner of ways. If he went 
to war with another king he was sure to gain the 
victory. His fields brought forth abundant harvests, 
and his flocks prospered and increased. Never was 
there a hailstorm or any other disaster in his country. 
But Salmoneus was presumptuous and thought he 
could get everything he wished by his own cleverness, 
and at last he came to despise the gods and to consider 
himself on equal terms with them. He commanded 
the people to call him Zeus and to offer sacrifices to 
him, and he had a chariot drawn by fiery horses, with 
dried cows' hides and copper kettles hanging from it, 
which clashed and rumbled together and made a 
tremendous noise as he drove along, and then the 
people had to shout, ' Zeus is thundering ! ' He had 
also burning torches in the chariot which he threw 
right and left among the people, and then they had to 
shout, e Zeus is lightning ! ' And whoever was hit by 
the torches was immediately killed by the king's spear- 
men, that it might seem as if he had been struck dead 
by his lightning. The gods let Salmoneus go on for 



SALMONEUS AND SISYPHUS. 43 

some time in this foolish way, but at last when he was 
one day driving through the streets with his thunder 
and lightning, a real thunderbolt came down from 
heaven which struck the king and killed him in a 
moment. Then the people fell to the earth in fear, 
and one of them said in a half-whisper, 'Zeus has 
indeed thundered ! ' 

Salmoneus had a brother named Sisyphus, who was 
king of the city of Corinth, and surpassed all other 
men in deceit and craftiness. There was a cunning 
robber, not far from Corinth, who was very clever in 
stealing cattle, and when he had carried off a herd he 
took care to make it impossible for it to be recognised 
again. He painted over any white spots on the bodies 
or foreheads of the animals, and had various ways of 
obliterating all other marks by which they could be 
identified. Sisyphus had a beautiful herd on which 
the robber had for some time cast envious eyes, and 
one dark night he stole them away and painted over 
all the marks that distinguished them from any other 
animals. The next day Sisyphus went to the robber's 
dwelling and told him to give up his cattle, but the 
robber said he had not got them, and that Sisyphus 
might see for himself whether they were there or not. 
Then the king said that he had marked each of his 
cattle with a little notch on the fore foot, and that all 
the animals he could find marked in that way would be 
his. The robber had never thought of looking out for 
such a mark as this, and he was thus outwitted by the 
king and obliged to give back the beautiful herd. 

No one could cheat Sisyphus, but he cheated and 
robbed many people, and was wicked and treacherous. 



44 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

He lay in wait for those who happened to be passing 
through his country and spoiled them of their goods, 
and then he killed them by crushing them beneath a 
huge stone. He even tried to cheat the gods, for when he 
died and came into the Lower World, he begged Pluto 
to give him leave to go back to the Upper World again 
for one day in order to divide his kingdom between his 
sons, and as he swore by the most sacred oaths that he 
would return at the end of that time, Pluto granted his 
request; but Sisyphus did not return until a messenger 
was sent to fetch him from the earth for the second time. 
And because he had been so wicked and deceitful both 
in life and in death, the gods laid upon him a heavy 
punishment, to which there was no end. He was told 
to roll a fearfully heavy stone up the side of a mountain, 
until he had brought it to the top and let it fall down 
the further side. But it was an enchanted stone, and 
every time that, with the greatest effort, Sisyphus 
had at last got it almost to the top of the mountain, it 
suddenly rolled back with a crash into the depths from 
which he had brought it, so that he had to begin his 
work all over again ; and thus he never could succeed 
in accomplishing his task, and his toil was never at an 
end. 



46 



XIV. 

BELLEROPHON. 

In the city of Corinth there were two young brothers, 
the sons of Grlaucus, the son of Sisyphus, one of 
whom was called Bellerophon, and was gifted by the 
gods with great strength and beauty. But one day, 
when he was out hunting with his brother, he threw 
his spear at a hind, and the spear missed its aim and 
accidentally hit his brother, who died of the wound. 
Bellerophon was very much grieved, and wished he 
could have been killed himself rather than have done 
this ; but nevertheless he had to leave his father's house 
and the city of Corinth, for everyone who killed 
another by accident was banished. He set out, not 
knowing who would receive him, but he determined 
first of all to seek for someone who would purge him 
from the stain* of blood ; for the Greeks held that who- 
ever had killed another, even though unintentionally, 
was denied, and needed to be purified by means of 
sacrifices and baths. It was not everyone who under- 
stood how to do this, but Bellerophon heard that King 
Proetus was learned in these matters, and he went to 
him and begged him to purify him. Proetus did what 
was necessary, and as the young hero pleased him, he 
begged him to stay with him and be his guest, and 



46 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

treated him as his own -son. But the queen was so 
much struck with the beauty of Bellerophon that she 
longed to have him for her husband, and she had a 
secret conversation with him, and proposed that they 
should both flee out of the country and be married. 
But Bellerophon could not have acted so ungratefully 
towards his kind host if the queen had been the most 
beautiful woman in the world, and he told her plainly that 
he would not do as she wished. Then all her fondness 
was turned into hatred and a fierce desire to kill him, 
and she went to her husband and said that Bellerophon 
had begged her to go away with him and be his wife, 
and that when she had refused, he had got angry and 
had said he should put the king to death. The king be- 
lieved his wife and was exceedingly angry, but as Belle- 
rophon was his guest, he would not himself lay hands 
on him. He thought of another way of taking his life, 
and concealing his resentment, asked Bellerophon if 
he would take a message from him to his father-in-law 
Iobates, who was king of Lycia. It was a long dis- 
tance by sea as well as by land to the country of Lycia, 
but Bellerophon was glad to do anything to please 
Proetus, and he at once promised to go. Proetus took 
a wooden tablet, and made signs upon it to signify that 
his father-in-law was to put the messenger to death, 
and then he covered the tablet with another, and tied a 
string round it. This was the way in which all letters 
were sent at that time, for paper and ink were not yet 
invented. 

Bellerophon took the letter and set out, suspecting 
nothing. He travelled for some time till he came to 
the sea, where he found a ship about to sail to the 



BELLEROPHON. 47 

opposite coast, so he got into it, and after a few days' 
journey, arrived at the country of King Iobates 
who received him in a very friendly manner. It was 
not then the custom to ask a guest his name and his 
business as soon as he arrived, and for nine days 
Iobates entertained Bellerophon without knowing who 
he was, and every day he sacrificed a bull, and feasted 
with his guest. The Greeks used to cut off the thigh- 
bones of the animals they sacrificed, for the gods ; they 
covered these bones with skin and placed them in the 
fire to make a pleasant odour for them, and then they 
consumed the rest of the animal themselves. On the 
tenth day, King Iobates asked his guest what his name 
was and whether he had brought any message, and 
Bellerophon told his name and delivered the letter 
which Proetus had sent. But when the king had made 
out the meaning of the signs, he was horrified, for he 
had become very fond of the young hero, and the idea 
of killing him had been far from his thoughts. Still, 
as his son-in-law urged him to do this, he supposed 
that Bellerophon must have committed some great 
crime, and he determined to carry out the wishes of 
Proetus. He might have murdered Bellerophon in his 
sleep, but he would not do that, — he willed rather that 
he should die like a hero, fighting for his life. There 
was at that time in the land of Lycia a horrible monster 
called the Chimaera, whose forepart was like a lion, her 
back like a dragon, and in the middle she was a goat. 
At. night the Chimaera remained on her mountain, 
but in the daytime she came down and laid waste the 
cornfields and devoured men and cattle, causing great 
distress all over the country. The king asked Belle- 



48 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

rophon whether he had courage enough to encounter 
the monster, and Bellerophon said yes, for he longed to 
be a real hero whose exploits men relate in song, and 
he was ready to venture upon any errand however 
dangerous it might be. So he armed himself with 
spear and sword, and set out in search of the Chimaera. 
The gods were pleased with him for his courage, 
but they knew that he must perish in the fight if they 
did not help him. He had not gone far when there 
came down from heaven a beautiful horse with wings 
like a bird, which flew round and round him. This 
horse was called Pegasus, and belonged to the gods. 
Bellerophon was delighted with the beautiful animal, 
and tried to attract him by whistling and coaxing. At 
last he persuaded him to come near enough to be 
stroked, and after that the hero soon succeeded in 
placing himself on his back, and they flew away together 
through the air. Bellerophon was the first man who 
had ever ridden upon such a horse. He would have 
found Pegasus a perfect steed if he had understood 
what was said to him, but instead of doing as he wished, 
he always went the wrong way. So he dismounted and 
continued his journey on foot, and Pegasus flew round 
him in beautiful curves, and was his travelling com- 
panion. By-and-by he met an old man who was a 
soothsayer, and he asked the hero how he came to 
possess such a beautiful animal. Bellerophon told him 
all about it, and added that he wished he knew how to 
make the horse obedient to his will, and then the 
soothsayer said that he would soon come to a place 
dedicated to the goddess Athene, and that if anyone 
who was in need of counsel chose to sleep in the temple, 



BELLEROPHON. 49 

the goddess would often help him by a dream. Belle- 
rophon resolved to try this, and as the stars were 
beginning to shine, he reached the temple of Athene ; 
and he went in and stretched himself on the floor with 
his head resting on the step of the altar for a pillow, 
while the horse slept outside the door. When it was 
nearly morning, the goddess Athene appeared to him in 
a dream and told him that she loved all brave heroes, 
and was glad to help him. She showed him a golden 
ribbon, and said that if he put it into the mouth of 
the horse and held the two ends in his hand, it would 
be a means of communication between them. She 
placed the golden ribbon in his hand, and he awoke, 
still holding it. It was the first bridle, and had been 
invented by the goddess Athene. He went out at 
once, put the ribbon into the mouth of the horse, and 
swung himself on to his back. Then they flew awa}', 
and the steed obeyed the rein, and went just where 
the hero wished. Bellerophon was very much pleased 
at this, and he offered up prayers and thanks to 
Athene for the help she had given him. 

After this Bellerophon continued his journey through 
the air, and when it was evening he came to a moun- 
tain by the sea from which he saw a flame of fire as- 
cending, and this showed him where the Chimaera was. 
He flew towards the place on the back of Pegasus, 
and perceived the horrible form of the monster. Pe- 
gasus hovered over her, and Bellerophon shot an arrow 
which wounded her in the neck and gave her great 
pain ; this made her furious, and she stood up on her 
hind feet and puffed out her fiery breath into the air, 
hoping to scorch Bellerophon to death, but he was so 

E 



50 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

high up that he was not hurt by it; and he shot her in 
the back with another arrow, so that she rolled about 
in pain, howling horribly, and then he sent a third 
arrow into her side. She had now only strength 
enough to moan, and in a little while she was dead. 
Then Bellerophon could come down to the mountain 
which was no longer unsafe for people to set foot upon; 
he slept there that night, and in the morning he cut 
off the head of the Chimaera, and set out upon his way 
home again. 

When Bellerophon stood before Iobates with the 
head of the Chimaera in his hand, the king was very 
much astonished, for he had thought there was not a 
chance that he would escape being killed by her. But 
he was still desirous of carrying out the wishes of 
Proetus, and he therefore sent the hero to fight against 
a barbarous people on the outskirts of his kingdom, 
who lived by plunder and robbery. No one who had 
hitherto been sent against them had ever returned 
alive, but the gods helped Bellerophon, and he slew a 
great many of the robbers and drove away the rest. 

A third time the king sent him away, and now it 
was to fight against a still stronger people. But after 
a few days had passed, there came messengers to tell 
him that the hero had put the enemy to flight and 
was about to return. Then the king chose out the 
strongest T.ycian youths, and set them in ambush on 
the road leading to the city. In the evening, however, 
Bellerophon entered the palace unhurt. The king 
thought he must have come by another road, and he 
asked him if he had met nothing on the way. Belle- 
rophon answered, ' Near the city there were some 



BELLEROPHON. t\ 

cowardly knaves lying in ambush, whom I slew.' Then 
the king knew that Bellerophon must be under the 
protection of the gods, and he laid aside all thoughts 
of doing him any injury, and told him that on account 
of the request of Proetus he had sent him on these 
expeditions in order that he might meet his death, but 
that from henceforth he would be his friend. He gave 
him the most beautiful of all his daughters for his 
wife, and begged him to stay with him and take part 
in the government of the country. The wedding soon 
took place, and from that time Bellerophon had a kingly 
staff like Iobates, and sat beside him on the throne to 
give judgment in all cases of difficulty. The Lycians 
gave him some of their land for his own, of which one 
part consisted of corn-fields, another part was a wine 
country, and the third was planted with beautiful fruit 
trees. The winged horse Pegasus was well taken care of, 
and Bellerophon ever treasured him as one of his dearest 
friends. 



02 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 



XT. 

DAEDALUS AND ICARUS. 

There was once a king of Crete called Minos, who had 
a great many ships and soldiers ; and there was also a 
clever artist named Daedalus, who had built a wonder- 
ful house for Minos with such an immense number of 
rooms in it that no one who entered it could ever find 
his way out again. There lived a monster in the house, 
and every year prisoners were taken to it, who wandered 
about trying in vain to find their way out again, until 
at last the monster came and devoured them. This 
wonderful house was called the Labyrinth. 1 The king 
wanted Daedalus to spend his time and skill in invent- 
ing other wonderful things for him, and when he wished 
to leave the island he refused to let him go, and placed 
soldiers all along the shore to prevent him from getting 
to any ship. Then Daedalus said to himself, ' My art 
has hitherto served the king, — it shall now serve me.' 
So he went into his workshop, and made a pair of large 
wings for himself and a pair of small ones for his 
little son Icarus, and every night when it was dark they 
fastened their wings on to their shoulders with wax, and 
practised flying like the birds ; and they soon became 
quite accustomed to using them. When they had 
1 For more about the Labyrinth, sec p. 180. 



DAEDALUS AND ICARUS. 53 

learnt to fly properly, they fastened on their wings early 
one morning and set off to fly to the island of Sicily, 
although that is a good hundred miles from the island 
of Crete. On the shore stood the soldiers whom the 
king had placed there to prevent them from leaving, 
but they could not catch them, and the two flew away 
together over the wide sea. At first Icarus was timid, 
but when a good stretch of the way lay behind them 
he became bolder, and began to think that flying was 
very pleasant work. At mid-day, however, the sun 
came out very hot, and Daedalus, who was flying on in 
front to show the way, called out to his child to tell 
him to beware of the sun and not go too near it. But 
Icarus thought, ' The sun looks so kind, I am sure he 
will do me no harm.' And he flew higher and higher, 
for Daedalus was on in front and did not see him, until 
the wax with which his wings were fastened began to 
melt. He felt the strokes becoming more feeble, and 
called to his father for help, but though Daedalus 
turned quickly round it was too late, — the boy could 
no longer support himself in the air, and he fell into 
the sea before his father's eyes. All the great skill of 
Daedalus was of no avail now, for Icarus was killed by 
the great fall, and he could do nothing to save him, 
but was obliged to fly on to the end of his journey all 
alone. 



54 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 



XVI. 

EUROPA AND CADMUS. 

In the land of Phenicia which lies in Asia, there was 
once a king who had a son named Cadmns and a 
daughter named Europa, and he was both fond and 
proud of his children, for Cadmus was brave, and Europa 
was beautiful. One day Europa was by the sea in 
a meadow full of lovely flowers, when there came a 
stately bull, who walked round and round her. It was 
Zeus, who had changed himself into a bull in order to 
carry off the beautiful maiden to be his wife. At first 
Europa was afraid of the bull, but he had such nice 
soft eyes that she could not help being kind to him. 
She stroked him and made friends with him, and then 
she gathered some flowers and twined them into a 
wreath, and when the bull stretched himself on the 
ground, she climbed on to his back and placed the beauti- 
ful wreathround his horns. But he instantly sprang up, 
and ran away with her so fast that she did not venture 
to jump off, but could only hold on to his horns and 
scream with all her might. The people in the field 
heard her cries, and soon they saw the hull run into 
the sea with her and swim away. They went and told 
the old king, and he at once sent off a ship in pursuit, 
but though it sailed about in all directions, it came 



EUKOPA AND CADMUS. 55 

back in the evening without having been able to find 
any trace of Europa. The old king was very much 
troubled and would neither eat nor drink, and on the 
third day he called his son Cadmus and commanded 
him to set out in search of his sister and not to turn 
back until he had found her. 

Cadmus chose companions for his journey, and they 
launched a ship and sailed away. They passed through 
many lands inquiring for the beautiful Europa and the 
bull, but nobody had seen them. At last they came 
into the land of Greece, and when Cadmus again 
inquired for his sister, the people told him that he had 
better go to Delphi and ask the priestess of Apollo 
about her. The city of Delphi was on Mount Parnassus, 
the centre of the earth, and there was a temple of 
Apollo there which was an Oracle or prophetic temple. 
If anyone wished to know something past or future 
which he could not find out in any other way, he went 
to the temple of Apollo and asked the priestess, who 
was called the Pythia, about it. There was a narrow 
opening in the floor of the temple which had not been 
made by man, and which went deep down into the 
earth. A wonderful odour ascended from the crevice, 
and a golden three-legged stool, called a Tripod, was 
placed over the opening. When anyone came to ask a 
question, the Pythia seated herself upon the Tripod and 
became inspired by the odour, and the god Apollo 
directed what she should say in answer, so that her 
predictions were divine utterances. These predictions 
were called Oracles. 

Cadmus accordingly went to Delphi, and took with 
him a beautiful golden cup as a present for the god, that 



56 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

he might answer him graciously. There were many 
costly vessels of gold and silver and other similar 
things in the temple, which had been given in this way 
as presents. Cadmus asked the Pythia where Europa 
had gone, and she answered that it was Zeus who, in 
the form of the bull, had carried her away and had 
hidden her from all men, and that Cadmus was no longer 
to seek for her, but to follow the ivhite cow, and to 
found a city in the place where she should lie down. 
She also told him that his father was dead, and that a 
stranger had taken possession of his kingdom. 

Cadmus did not understand which was the cow he 
was to follow, but he left the temple, and when he came 
outside, he saw a spotless white cow who looked at him 
as if she had been waiting for him. She started off 
along the road, and he followed her. They walked on 
all day and all night, and in the morning they found 
themselves on a beautiful hill with a fertile country all 
round, and there the cow lay down. Cadmus desired 
to sacrifice the cow to the gods, and he sent one of his 
companions to some bushy ground near at hand where 
he heard a spring bubbling, to draw some water for the 
sacrifice. But the companion did not come back, so 
Cadmus sent another, but he did not come back either. 
Then he went himself, and found a hideous dragon 
keeping watch by the spring, who had devoured his two 
companions. The dragon started up with the intention 
of devouring him also, but Cadmus drew a sharp sword, 
and thrust it into the neck of the monster with such 
force that a great stream of blood gushed out and he 
died. Cadmus was still standing looking at the dragon 
when the goddess Athene appeared to him and told 



EUROPA AND CADMUS. 57 

him that he must take out the dragon's teeth and sow 
them in the ground, and that from this strange seed 
there would spring warriors who would help him to 
build a city and would be his subjects. Then the 
goddess disappeared, and Cadmus took out the teeth, of 
which there were a great many, and put them into his 
helmet ; and as he turned away from the spring, he saw 
a plo tgh standing in the field with two bulls yoked to 
it. Cadmus drove the plough up and down, and dropped 
the teeth one by one into the furrows which it had 
made. For a short time they remained just where he 
had placed them, but presently they began to disturb 
the soil by their movements and to rise above it by 
degrees. First there appeared a row of brazen helmets, 
and then a row of bearded faces underneath the helmets, 
and then followed glittering coats of mail, and when 
the warriors got their arms free, they were able to help 
themselves completely out, and brushed off the dust 
that was clinging to them. They were clothed in brass 
from head to foot, and each held in his right hand a 
spear, and in his left a shield. Cadmus was afraid of 
the armed band, and thought of a plan for making them 
quarrel with one another. He took up a number of 
little stones and threw them at the newly-born warriors 
from behind a bush, and as they could not see where 
the stones came from, each of them thought that his 
neighbour had struck him, and hit him back again, so 
that there was soon a fierce battle raging among them, 
and man after man was killed. When there were only 
five left, Cadmus- stepped forward and proclaimed peace, 
and said, 'The gods have given you to me as my 
subjects ; let us build a city.' They agreed to do as 



58 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

he said, and built a city on the hill which they called 
the Cadmea, after Cadmus their king, and by degrees 
many people came to settle in it. The five warriors 
who had sprung from the dragon's teeth were called 
Sparti or Sown Men, and they were the next in power 
to the king. The gods loved Cadmus, and they gave him 
a beautiful wife called Harmonia, who was the daughter 
of Ares, the god of war, and of Aphrodite, the goddess 
of beauty. All the gods gave costly wedding gifts, and 
when the marriage was celebrated in the Cadmea, the 
guests, both gods and men, feasted together. 

Zeus had carried Europa across the Mediterranean 
Sea to the land which lies opposite to Asia, and all the 
country on this side of the Mediterranean Sea has ever 
since that time been called Europe. 



69 



XVII. 

THEBES. 

After the death of Cadmus many more people came 
to live in the Cadmea, and when there was no more 
room on the hill, they established themselves in the 
plain round it and built more and more houses, till 
there came to be a great city to which they gave the 
name of Thebes. The Cadmea then became the castle 
or citadel of Thebes ; the king's palace was inside it, 
and it was fortified with very strong walls, so that if 
the city were besieged by enemies, the inhabitants 
could take shelter in the citadel and hurl darts and 
javelins at their enemies from its walls. 

There was once a king of Thebes named Amphion, 
who could sing most beautifully, and also play upon 
the lyre. When he sang, it was impossible for anyone 
to resist stopping to listen, however great a hurry he 
might be in, and even the very stones would detach 
themselves from their places in order to come nearer 
to him. Amphion knew this, and one day he said to 
himself, ' Since I have such power over the stones, I 
will make them Ferve me.' So he sat down in the 
middle of the city, and began to sing in a loud voice 
which was echoed by the distant hills. Then there 
was a sound of rumbling and scuffling, for every stone 



60 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

that heard the song, no matter how far off it was, came 
rushing towards Amphion, and they heaped themselves 
one upon the other till at last a great stone wall was 
built up all round the city; and the Thebans took 
hatchets and crowbars and broke open seven spaces in 
it, where they erected seven great gates. 



61 



XVIII. 

SEMELE. 

Cadmus and Harmonia had two daughters, one of 
whom was a very beautiful maiden named Semele. 
Zeus loved Semele and made her his wife secretly, and 
she was so happy that she wished for nothing else than 
that the king of the gods should always continue to 
love her as he did then. But Hera was very angry 
about it, and she took the form of an old nurse to 
whom Semele told all her secrets, and came one day into 
the palace when the nurse had gone to the river to wash 
clothes. She was the only person who knew that Zeus 
was the husband of Semele, and Hera, who had taken 
her form, pretended that she had come back in order 
to give her some advice about it. She told her that 
she ought to make trial of Zeus, and beg him to come 
to her, if it were only for once, in all the glory and 
splendour with which he surrounded himself when he 
was with Hera, and that if he refused to do so, it 
would prove that he was not really Zeus, but some 
mortal who had deceived her. She said this in order 
to make Semele suspicious and distrustful, and because 
she wanteU to bring about her destruction ; and when 
she had finished talking she went quickly back to 
Mount Olympus, and no one knew that she had been 
in the Cadmea. 



62 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

Semele did not for a moment believe that her 
husband was any other than Zeus, but she was dazzled 
with the thought that she might persuade her lover 
to come to her surrounded with the glory of the gods, 
and so she took Hera's advice, and next time that Zeus 
came to see her, she begged him to swear by the Styx 
that he would grant her the request she was about to 
make. Hera had advised her to make him swear by 
the Styx, because that was the oath which the gods 
could never break if they bound themselves by it. 
Zeus swore without any misgiving, for he expected her 
to wish that suddenly beautiful flowers should spring 
up all round the Cadmea, or that he should fly with 
her through the air, or perform some other such miracle ; 
but when Semele begged that he would come to her 
that evening exactly as if he were coming to Hera, he 
regretted that he had sworn so rashly, and told her 
that the fulfilment of such a wish as that, would cost 
her her life. But Semele thought that he despised 
her, and did not care to show himself to her in all his 
godlike splendour, and she persisted in her request ; 
and as he had sworn by the Styx, Zeus was obliged to 
submit to her foolish will. When the evening came, 
a terrible rumbling sound was heard in the air, and it 
thundered and lightened, and Zeus came down from 
Mount Olympus in the chariot of the gods. He 
entered the Cadmea, and Semele beheld his countenance 
glowing with unspeakable beauty and majesty, but the 
splendour and glory that surrounded him was a sight 
which no mortal could bear, and she was struck dead 
by that one look. 



C3 



XIX. 

DIONYSUS. 

Dionysus was the son of Zeus and of Semele, and 
Hera hated him as she had hated his mother, and 
would have killed him if she could ; so as soon as he 
was born, Zeus commanded Hermes to take him away 
secretly to a king called Athamas, that Hera might not 
know where he was. Athamas promised to take care 
of him, and the queen, whose name was Ino, told every- 
one that he was her own child, and brought him up 
with her two little boys. But Hera found out where 
the little Dionysus was, and she was so angry with 
King Athamas for having consented to hide him from 
her, that she punished him by making him quite mad 
She falsified his sight so that everything seemed to 
him quite different from what it really was, and one 
day when he was coming home from hunting and saw 
Ino sitting on the grass in front of the house with her 
two little boys by her side, he thought she was a doe 
with two little fawns, and he took an arrow and shot 
one of the children right through the heart, so that he 
was killed instantly. Ino saw that her husband was 
mad, and she immediately snatched up the other child 
and fled away with it, but Athamas pursued her with 
another arrow on his bow-string till they came to the 



64 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

sea, and then, as Tno could flee no farther, she rushed 
into the sea with her little boy, and they were both 
drowned. They were scarcely dead when Athamas 
regained his right senses and knew what he had done, 
and he was so grieved and shocked that he* left his 
country altogether, and wandered for a long time in 
strange lands, till at last he settled down again, as you 
will hear in another. story. 1 

Meanwhile Hera was looking everywhere for the 
little Dionysus, but she could not find him, for she did 
not know that a young heifer who was grazing in front of 
the house was the form into which Zeus had changed 
the child to hide him from her. In the night Hermes 
came and took the heifer up into his arms, and it became 
a child again. Then he took the boy a long, long 
journey, almost to the end of the world, till at last he 
reached a lonely region where seven nymphs lived by 
a beautiful river, far from the dwellings of men, and 
he gave him into the charge of the nymphs, who pro- 
mised to bring him up and take great care of him. 
Hera was seated on Mount Olympus, the throne of the 
gods, and she cast her eyes all round the world to see 
what had become of Dionysus, but as she expected to 
find him again in the charge of some king, she did 
not think of looking for him in the country of the 
nymphs. 

When Dionysus grew up to be a young man, he 
was very beautiful, and Zeus loved him so much that 
he gifted him with the might of a god. Immediately 
his face gained a new expression, and his eyes glowed 
with a fire that is never seen in the eyes of men. 
1 See page 150. 



DIONYSUS. 65 

Dionysus thought he. would like to give proof of his 
new power by bestowing some precious gift upon men, 
and he resolved that he would create out of water. and 
sunshine a sweet drink that should give them courage 
and cheerfulness, and that a beautiful plant should be 
the means of producing this drink. So he created the 
Vine with its purple grapes, in which, ever since that 
time, the sun has every year brewed the drink bestowed 
by the god Dionysus. 

Dionysus did not wish to live in concealment any 
longer, for Hera had no power to injure him now that 
he had become a god, and he desired to be known and 
honoured like the other gods. He determined there- 
fore to travel through the whole world, and Zeus gave 
him a train of men and women to follow and serve him 
who were called Bacchantes, or followers of Bacchus, 
which is another name for Dionysus. He set out on 
his pleasure-journey, driving in a golden chariot drawn 
by two tame spotted panthers which he guided with a 
golden rein, and round him danced the Bacchantes, 
holding in their hands wands twined round with ivy, 
and with ivy wreaths on their heads. Cups of the 
most delicious wine were passed from mouth to mouth, 
and the whole air was filled with the sounds of singing 
and flute-playing. There was an old man named 
Silenus, who had formerly lived with the nymphs, and 
had been accustomed to play with Dionysus when he 
was a child, and dance him on his knees. He now 
joined in the procession, and he was so fond of the 
wine that he was always intoxicated. His body became 
bloated with drinking so much wine, so that he could 
not walk steadily, but was obliged to ride on an ass, and 

F 



$6 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

often in his drunken condition, he sate facing the 
wrong way and holding the tail of the ass in his hands 
as a bridle. 

Wherever Dionysus went 'he caused the vine to 
grow, and he was good to those who honoured him, 
but he punished all who disobeyed him. One day, 
while he was on his journey through the world, he 
halted at mid-day in a cool wood near the sea, and 
when the Bacchantes had given the thirsty panthers 
some sweet wine to drink, the whole train of followers 
la}' down under the trees and went to sleep. Dionysus, 
however, was filled with a desire to visit the island of 
Naxos, which he loved above all other lands, and he 
went down to the shore where there was just then a 
ship sailing by, and asked the ship- men if they would 
carry him to Naxos ; and they said ' Yes,' and sailed up 
to the land and took him in. They did not know who 
he was, but supposed him to be a mortal youth, and 
seeing that he was so beautiful, they made up their 
minds to sell him for a slave, for they were not good 
men, but thieves. Dionysus lay down in the ship and 
went to sleep. When he awoke, they had already sailed 
past the island, so he begged them to turn back and 
set him on shore at Naxos, but they laughed and told 
him they were going to sell him for a slave. Dionysus 
had only wanted to make trial of them, and now the 
ship suddenly stood still, and though they tried with 
all their might to row on farther, it was as immovable 
as if it had been fastened to the bottom of the sea 
with a hundred chains. And vines and ivy-bushes 
sprang up and covered the sides of the ship with green 
foliage, and a spray of ivy twined itself round the mast 



DIONYSUS. 67 

right up to the top, so that the ship looked like a 
beautiful garden in the middle of the sea. But the 
sight of it gave no pleasure to the ship-men ; their 
flesh crept, and they were seized with an irresistible 
desire to jump into the sea. And as they jumped they 
were changed into dolphins, and for the rest of their 
lives they swam about in the sea, thieving fishes as 
they had been thieving men. Then Dionysus clapped 
his hands, and the panther-drawn chariot came over 
the sea to him followed by the Bacchantes, the sea 
making a pathway for them so that they scarcely 
wetted their feet. Dionysus got into his chariot and 
guided it to Naxos, and the Bacchantes followed it, 
skipping along on the crests of the wave&. 

After Dionysus had travelled over the whole world, 
it was fitting that he should take up his abode on 
Mount Olympus with the other gods, and Hera did 
not make any difficulty about it. But before he did 
so, he brought his mother Semele from out of the Lower 
World, and Zeus made her immortal, so that she also 
had a place among the gods, and Hera no longer bore 
her any ill-will. 



»2 



68 MYTHS Oi?' HELLAS. 



XX. 

MELAMPUS AND BIAS. 

In the city of Pylos there lived a man named Melam- 
pus, who was very rich, and had a great deal of land 
and many servants. One day, as the servants were 
coming home from their work in the fields, they found 
a nest of snakes in a hollow oak, and they drove out 
the snakes and began to beat them to death with their 
sticks and cudgels. Just then Melampus came by, and 
when he saw what the servants were doing, he. let them 
kill the old snakes, but finding among th'em two young 
ones less than a foot long, he took them up and carried 
them home. The little snakes were now very well off, 
for Melampus made them a bed of leaves and gave 
them plenty of food to eat. They were not poisonous 
snakes, but nice harmless little creatures, and when 
they grew older they had a great wish to do Melampus 
some service, as a return to him for having saved their 
lives and taken such care of them. So one day, when 
he was asleep, the snakes crept up to him, one on each 
side, and licked his ears with their fine sharp little 
tongues, and when he awoke he found he could under- 
stand what the birds and insects said, and he was ever 
afterwards able to discover things that were hidden from 
other men, because the birds told him about them. 



MELAMPUS AND BIAS. 69 

At this time there reigned over the city of Pylos a 
king named Neleus, who had an only daughter called 
Pero. She was so beautiful that no one who had once 
seen her ever cared to look at any other woman, and 
many princes came to Pylos to ask for her hand in 
marriage, but King Neleus said that whoever wished 
to have her for his wife must first bring him the cattle 
of Iphiclus, and that he would not part with her on 
any other condition. These cattle were renowned for 
their strength and beauty, and they were always spoken 
of as the cattle of Iphiclus, although Iphiclus himself 
had been dead a long time, and his son Phylacus now 
owned them. They were guarded by a great fierce 
dog with a terrific voice, and if anyone came to try 
and steal them, he barked so loudly that all the ser- 
vants of Phylacus came rushing out to seize the thief 
and carry him off to prison. Nor could Phylacus be 
induced to part with the cattle for any sum of money ; 
so when the suitors heard that the king insisted upon 
having the cattle of Iphiclus, they thought it was a 
hopeless case and went away home again. 

Now amongst those who came to sue for the hand 
of the beautiful Pero, there was a man named Bias, the 
brother of Melampus, who loved her so dearly and 
wished so much to have her for his wife, that he lost 
all his spirits and fell into deep despondency because 
he could not think of any means of obtaining the 
cattle. Melampus had a great affection for his bro~ 
ther and longed to help him in this difficulty, so he 
asked the birds if there was any way by which he 
could succeed in procuring the cattle for Bias. The 
birds answered that if he would be willing to be seized 



70 MY TILS OV HELLAS. 

by the servants and pat into prison for a year, he would 
be able to obtain the cattle at the end of that time. 
Melampus was quite ready to do this for his brother, 
and he set out at once, promising Bias that at the end 
of the year he would return with the beautiful herd. 
When he came to the field where the cattle of Iphiclus 
were grazing, it happened to liim just as the birds had 
foretold, and he was taken prisoner by the servants 
and thrust into a dark dungeon. He could never see 
the sun there, but he was able to count the days, for 
he could hear the birds singing, and when they began 
to chirp in the morning, he knew that a new day must 
have dawned upon the earth. At last, when there was 
only one day wanting to make up the full year, he 
heard some wood-worms talking together in one of the 
rafters of the house, and he listened to what they were 
saying. One asked, ' Have you nearly finished the work ? ' 
and the others answered, ' Before the sun goes down, the 
beam will be eaten through and the house must fall.' 
Then Melampus understood that the house was not safe, 
and he called the gaoler and told him that they ought 
both to leave it without delay, for that before the setting 
of the sun it would fall. The gaoler was not inclined 
to believe him, for the house appeared to be in perfect 
condition, but Melampus would not leave off warning 
and entreating him, and at last he took him to another 
prison. They had scarcely left the house when they 
heard a great noise, and as they looked back it fell in 
ruins. The gaoler was very much astonished that Me- 
lampus should have known of this beforehand, and he 
told King Phylacus about it. 

The old king was at this time in great sorrow on 



MELAMPUS AND BIAS. 71 

account of his son, who was named Iphiclus after his 
grandfather. He had been married for many years, 
but the gods gave him no children, and the old king 
feared that after his death the kingdom would fall into 
the hands of a stranger instead of being still governed 
by one of his own race. He did not know why the 
gods were angry with his son, and no one was able to 
tell him. When therefore he heard from the gaoler 
how Melampus had foretold the downfall of the prison, 
he thought that he must be a wise man, and he asked 
him whether he could find any means of freeing him 
from his anxiety. Melampus answered that he would 
try to do so if the king would promise him the beautiful 
cattle as his reward, and Phylacus did not think this 
too great a price, but swore to give them to him. 
Melampus then begged that the king's servants might 
kill a cow and cut it in pieces, and that they would 
take him to an open field, and leave him alone with 
the flesh beside him. They did as he wished, and 
when the servants had gone away, a number of birds of 
all sizes came flocking towards the pieces of flesh. 
Melampus, however, would not let them come too near, 
but kept them off with a stick, and said, ' Whichever 
of you can fell me why the gods are angry with Iphi- 
clus the Younger, shall have the best piece of meat as 
a reward.' Then an old raven, nearly a hundred years 
old, began to croak and said, ' When Iphiclus was a 
little boy, his father placed a sacrifice under a sacred 
oak, but found himself obliged to return to the house 
for something he had^ forgotten. Meanwhile the little 
Iphiclus was left alone, and he took the sacrificial 
knife and thrust it into the oak because he was fright- 



72 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

ened at the way it glittered. I was sitting on the tree 
looking on when he did this. In" the course of time, 
however, the bark has quite grown over the knife, so 
that it cannot now be seen.' Melampus gave the 
raven a great piece of flesh, and he took it in his claws 
and flew away with it, and Melampus said, 4 Whichever 
of you can tell me how this maybe expiated, shall have 
the next best piece.' Then a vulture came forward 
who was skilled in medicine, and a physician among 
the birds, and who knew how to give counsel, and he 
said, * You must dig the knife out of the tree, and 
when you have found it,' scrape off the rust and pour it 
into a bowl of wine. Let the king's son drink that, 
and then the gods will send him an heir.' The vul- 
ture received the second best piece, and Melampus 
went away, leaving the" birds to feast upon the re- 
mainder of the flesh. He went back to the palace 
and asked for an axe, with which he struck the oak, 
and at the first stroke he discovered the knife. It was 
quite red with rust, and he drew it out and scraped off 
the rust into a bowl of wine and told the king that his 
son must drink some of this every morning for ten 
days, and then the gods, would be gracious to him. 
Some time after this the wife of Iphiclus had a little 
son, which was a great joy to the old king. 

He did not fail to give Melampus the reward he had 
promised, and Bias took the cattle to the palace of 
Neleus and again asked to be allowed to marry the 
beautiful Pero. The king made no further objection, 
and the wedding was celebrated that very same day. 

The god Apollo loved Melampus because he was a 



MELAMPUS AND BIAS. <3 

good man, and he gifted him with the art of knowing 
the future by means of various signs, and of understand- 
ing how to propitiate the wrath of the gods. Many 
people came to ask advice of him when they were in 
trouble or difficulty, and among others, Proetus the king 
of Argos, sent to beg for his help, for he was in great dis- 
tress. This king had three daughters who were beautiful 
and virtuous, but they refused to offer sacrifices to the 
god Dionysus, and therefore Dionysus punished them 
by taking away their reason, so that they became mad. 
They ran about the city, dancing and screaming and 
tearing their clothes, and if anyone tried to restrain them 
they became wilder still, and foamed at the mouth, so that 
no one could see them without feeling deeply grieved. 
It was on account of this that Proetus sent to Melampus 
to beg him to make his daughters well again. Melampus 
agreed to do so if the king would promise him a third 
of his dominions as a reward ; but when Proetus heard 
of the condition, avarice prevailed over his love for his 
daughters, and he refused to part with any of his land. 
But the evil became worse and worse, for all the women 
in the country were seized with the same disease as the 
princesses, and ran about the streets and fields, raging 
as if they were intoxicated. Many had taken their 
little children with them, thinking that they w r ere 
young deer which they must sacrifice to Dionysus, 
and it was a ghastly sight to see them murder their 
own children, not knowing what they were doing. 
The whole land was in such great trouble that the 
king sent a messenger to tell Melampus that he 
would give him the third part of his dominions if 
he would put an end to the misery, but Melampus 



74 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

wow said that he must also give his brother Bias a 
third, or he would do nothing for him. The king 
was very loth to give away so much fertile territory, 
but he feared that he might at last be obliged to win 
over Melampus at any price, and perhaps lose his whole 
kingdom, so he promised to give him what he asked. 
Then Melampus went to Argos - and placed himself at 
the head of all the young men in the city, whom he 
had told beforehand what they were to do. They 
marched out of the city in an orderly band, till they 
met the raving women who had formed themselves 
into a sort of wild army with the princesses at their 
head. As soon as they saw the army of youths they 
took flight, and the men pursued them, shouting as if 
they were at war, till they reached the sea and could go 
no farther. Then Melampus offered many sacrifices, 
until the gods were propitiated and the women had 
their reason restored. After this, they all returned to 
the city. The eldest princess, who was the most 
afflicted of all, had fallen down dead duriDg the chase, 
but the other two came back to the palace and lived 
with their father as before, and from this time they 
honoured Dionysus and offered sacrifices to him 

Melampus and Bias now became princes, and they 
ruled over the land which King Proetus gave them 
according to his promise 



15 



XXI. 

TANTALUS. PELOPS. 

In the land of Phrygia, which lies in Asia Minor, there 
was once a king named Tantalus, whom the gods 
loaded with all manner of favours. They gave him 
great wealth, so that he was richer than any other king, 
and they treated him as a friend and came to his house 
as guests, and sometimes they allowed him to ascend 
to Mount Olympus in one of their chariots and to 
drink nectar and eat ambrosia at their table. But 
Tantalus was presumptuous, and turned the friendship 
with which the gods honoured him to bad uses, for ho 
stole nectar and ambrosia and gave them to other men 
to taste, and he also repeated things that he had heard 
the gods speak of among themselves, about which he 
ought to have kept silence, He even once invited the 
gods to a banquet in order to try and take them in, and 
for this purpose he killed his beautiful young son 
Pelops, and cut him in pieces and roasted the flesh ; and 
when the gods sat down to the banquet he brought in 
the flesh and laid it before them, thinking that they 
would eat it without knowing what it was. The goddess 
Demeter was at this time in great trouble because htv 
daughter Persephone had been stolen away from her, 
and as she sat buried in sad thoughts, she eat a shoulder- 



76 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

piece without paying attention to what she was doing. 
But the other gods did not eat any of the flesh, for 
they knew directly what it was, and they were very 
angry with Tantalus. Zeus commanded that Pelops 
should come to life again, and he was even more 
beautiful than before, but his right shoulder was 
missing, for Demeter had eaten it. The goddess could 
not replace it, but she took a piece of ivory and cut 
out a shoulder, which she fitted into the right place, so 
that it looked like the other limbs, only it was more 
white and shining. 

After this the gods would have nothing more to do 
with Tantalus, and as they no longer blessed his fields 
or flocks, his prosperity was now at an end, for the 
fields produced miserable crops, 'and the flocks were 
diminished by plagues and diseases, and also by the 
ravages of wolves and lions. Tantalus became worse 
and worse, and committed many other crimes, and 
after his death the gods laid upon him a never-ending 
punishment. He found himself standing in beautiful 
clear water which reached up to his chin, and close 
above his head there hung branches of magnificent 
fruit trees quite weighed down with the quantity of 
fruit they bore, but whenever he tried to sip the water 
it sank before him till there was nothing to be seen but 
the black earth, and whenever he tried to gather some 
fruit the branches raised themselves into the air, so 
that though he was parched with thirst and was 
perpetually straining to quench it, if but for a moment, 
he was never able to reach either the water or the 
fruit. 1 

1 From this story comes the English word ' to tantalize.' 



TANTALUS. PELOPS. 77 

After the death of Tantalus, his son Pelops was king 
of Phrygia. But there came another king, with an 
army of soldiers, who fought against him and drove him 
away, so that he was obliged to leave his country and 
travel into strange lands. After some time he came to 
the city of Elis, in Greece, where at that time, there 
was a king called Oenomaus who had a lovely daughter 
named Hippodamia. A great, many heroes desired to 
marry her, and the king had sent to ask the Oracle 
which of them he should choose for her husband, but 
the answer that he received was that when his daughter 
married, he himself would die. He at once determined 
that his daughter should never marry ; and as he had 
two horses that could run like the wind and there 
were none in the whole country that could compare 
with them in speed, he said that anyone who wished to 
marry his daughter must compete with him in a chariot 
race, and if he won the race he should have the maiden 
for his wife, but if he failed to do so he must die. 
Hippodamia was so beautiful that many heroes were 
willing to risk their lives for the chance of winning her, 
and agreed to the conditions. At some distance from 
the city there stood an altar to Poseidon, which was the 
•goal, and on each occasion the princess drove with the 
suitor for her hand. Oenomaus used to let them start 
on in front whilst he remained behind to sacrifice a ram 
to the gods, and when the sacrifice was offered, he 
mounted the chariot with his lance in his hand, and 
urged on the horses to their utmost speed. The race 
never lasted long, for he very soon overtook the suitor 
and pierced him through the back with his lance, so 
that he fell down dead from the chariot. 



78 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

Thirteen heroes had already lost their lives, and 
Oenomaus thought that he had found a very good way 
of preventing his daughter from ever being married. But 
Pelops heard of the beautiful Hippodamia, and though 
he heard, too, of the cruel king who put all her suitors 
to death, he resolved to set out for Elis and try his 
chance of winning the. maiden, for he was a true hero, 
brave and fearless. It. was a prize well worth trying 
for, for whoever won it would not only have the 
beautiful princess for his wife, but would also inherit 
the kingdom, for Oenomaus had no other child. Pelops 
came to Elis, and Oenomaus told him, as he had told 
the others, that he must be prepared to race with him, 
and fixed the race for the following day. The king had 
procured even swifter horses than those he had at first, 
and if Pelops had not set to work cunningly he must 
have lost his life, but he had thought of a plan by 
which he might get the better of the king, if he could 
secure the help of the man to whom was entrusted the 
care of the horses and chariot of Oenomaus. He 
watched until this man took the horses to bathe in the 
river, and he followed him there to have an opportunity 
of speaking to him p/vately and promised him a great 
reward if, on the next day, he would leave out some 
necessary part of the king's equipment, so that he 
might be delayed in the race. Oenomaus was such a 
cruel man that his servants had no affection for him, 
and the man promised Pelops that he would help him 
to win the race. 

The next day, many people came to the open space 
outside the city where the race was to be run. They 
felt sorry for the hero, for his horses were far less 



TANTALUS. PPXOPS. 79 

strong and spirited than those of the king, which 
pawed the ground with impatience, and snuffed the air 
in their eagerness to set out. Oenomaus told hip. 
daughter to get into the chariot with Pelops, and 
when he had the beautiful maiden sitting by his side, 
Pelops felt how happy he would be if he could obtain 
her for his wife, and he urged on his horses with all his 
might. Meanwhile Oenomaus took a sacrificial knife 
and killed a bull, and then he laid a part of the flesh 
in the flame of the fire that burnt on the altar, and 
prayed to the gods to enable him to get the better of 
Pelops and kill him. When the sacrifice was ended, he 
mounted his chariot, with the reins in his left hand 
and a sharp-pointed lance in his right hand, and the 
moment he shook the reins, the horses started off at 
their utmost speed, and the chariot could not be seen 
for the duet that it raised. He came close to Pelops, 
and raised his lance to smite him. But the unfaithful 
servant had taken out the nails which prevent the 
wheel from slipping off the axle, and just as Oenomaus 
was overtaking the other chariot, the wheel rolled on 
one side, and the chariot turned over. The king was 
thrown out, and he fell upo^ a stone and was killed 
instantly. 

So Pelops was the victor, and the sentence of the 
Oracle was fulfilled. As soon as the beautiful Hippo- 
damia had ended her mourning for her father, she was 
married to Pelops, who became king of Elis and ruled 
the country well and wisely. Long after his death the 
Greeks still remembered him, and named the great 
peninsula in which Elis lies, Peloponnesus, or the 
Island of Pelops. 



80 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 



XXII. 

NIOBE. 

Niobe was the daughter of Tantalus, and the wife of 
King Amphion, who by means of his singing and 
playing had built a wall round Thebes. 1 She and her 
husband were rich and prosperous, but beyond all their 
other treasures they prized their twelve noble and 
beautiful children. There were six sons and six 
daughters, and they were the pride of Niobe's heart. 
She looked down upon all other women because they 
were none of them so fortunate as herself, and once 
she even dared to say that she was superior to the 
goddess Leto, for that Leto had only two children, and 
she had six times as many. When Leto heard this 
she was stung to the quick, and she went weeping to 
her children and told them of it. These children were 
the god Apollo and the goddess Artemis, and they 
were very angry with Niobe for vexing their mother, 
and resolved to punish her for her pride. 

One day the sons of Niobe were in the courtyard 
wrestling with each other, for they were skilled in 
wrestling as becomes young heroes, and the mother and 

1 See p. 59. 



NIOBI'. 81 

sisters were standing by, watching them. All at once 
one of the youths groaned, sank down, and died. He 
had been hit by one of the arrows of Apollo, which 
were invisible and deadly, killing instantly whoever 
was hit by them. The mother, brothers, and sisters 
gathered round the youth, unable to believe that lie 
was dead, when suddenly a maiden sank upon her 
knees, heaved a sigh, and died also, She had been hit 
by one of the arrows of Artemis, which were invisible 
like those of Apollo. Son after son, and daughter after 
daughter, was killed by the unseen arrows, and Niobe 
knew that this was a punishment for her pride. The 
youth who was first struck down was not yet cold when 
the only one of all her children left to Niobe was the 
youngest daughter, whom she loved best of all. The 
little girl had always found protection in her mother's 
lap, and now, when the fear that she must die like her 
brothers and sisters came over her, she ran to her mother 
and clung to her knees for shelter. Niobe took her up 
in her arms, and wrapping her veil round her as if it 
could shield her from the unseen enemy, she looked up 
to heaven and cried from her inmost soul, ' Spare 
me but this one ! ' But at that moment she felt her 
daughter convulsed in her arms, and the last of her 
children was dead. 

There was great distress throughout the city. King 
Amphion tore his hair and threw himself on the earth 
with frantic cries of grief, and the citizens wept and 
lamented. But Niobe shed no tears, no word of sorrow 
came out of her mouth,. and she kept her eyes fixed on 
the ground, still clasping her youngest daughter to her 



82 MYTHS GP HELLAS. 

breast, while the other corpses lay around her. The 
night came on and the others went into the house, but 
Niobe remained standing in the starlight amongst her 
dead children, and when the people came back in the 
morning, she had turned to stone. 



83 



XXIII. 

MELEAGEK AND ATALANTA. 

King Oeneus lived in the city of Calydon with his wife 
Althaea, and they had already several children when 
another little son was born to them. When the child 
was about seven days old, his mother awoke one night 
and saw a fire burning on the hearth, and by the fire 
three women standing, who were taller and statelier 
than any women she had ever seen before : they were 
the three Fates, who are the goddesses that decide 
whether the lives of men shall be brightened by hap- 
piness or made heavy with misfortune. One of them 
said, ' I gift this child with bravery.' The second said, 
* I bestow upon him a generous heart.' The third said, 
' I grant him life until the day when this firebrand 
shall be burnt to ashes.' Then they all disappeared, 
and Althaea at once got up and took the piece of stick 
•from the fire, and when she had put it out by pouring- 
water upon it, she stowed it away in the chest where 
she kept her most precious treasures. The parents 
named their child Meleageiy and he grew up to be a 
strong and noble youth, fond of the chase and of war. 

After Meleager had become a man, it happened one 
year that King Oenens raised a number of altars of 
green turf in the fields at harvest-time, and placed on 

G 2 



84 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

each' altar some of the corn that was first cut, in order 
to show his gratitude to the gods for having caused the 
fruits of the earth to grow and ripen ; every god and every 
goddess had an altar except Artemis the goddess of the 
chase, who was forgotten. She was very angry with the 
king on account of this, and sent a fierce wild boar to 
destroy his land. This boar was much larger than any 
other that had ever been seen, and he had two long 
pointed tusks which made him very frightful to look 
at. He roamed about the country, and wherever he 
found a newly-sown field he tore up the ground and 
laid it waste, and he ripped open the young trees with 
his tusks, and broke in among the flocks, killing men 
and cattle. He was so fierce and powerful that no 
hunter had courage to attack him, and at last the evil 
became so serious that the king sent messengers to a 
number of heroes to ask them to come to Calydon, and 
all set out together to hunt the boar. All who were 
summoned promised to come, and at the appointed 
time they assembled at Calydon. There came also a 
maiden who was armed with a hunting-spear, and who 
would not play with the king's daughters, but said she 
wished to go to the hunt with the heroes. 

The maiden's name was Atalanta, and she had a 
strange history. She was the child of a king and queen 
who had wished very much to have a little son, and had 
begged the gods to send them one. Instead of this, 
however, a girl was born to them, and the father was 
so angry that he commanded his servants to take the 
child to a mountain that was clothed with forests, and 
leave her there to be devoured by wild beasts. For a 
night and a day the child lay in the forest, and it was 



MELEAGER AND AT AL ANT A. 35 

nearly dead of starvation when a she-bear came by, who 
drooped her head sadly because her little cubs had 
been taken from her by some hunters. The child was 
frightened at the great black beast and began to cry, 
but the bear looked kindly at it, and, when she saw 
what bright eyes the baby had, she growled gently and 
licked it with, her warm tongue. Soon the child forgot 
its fear, and when the bear put her full udder to 
its mouth, it began to suck, for it was hungry and 
thirsty ; and from that time the bear came again every 
day and gave it food and played with. it. After 
some time had passed, it happened that some hunters 
came up the mountain in pursuit of a deer, and one 
of them in bending back a bush caught sight of the 
beautiful little girl, who was lying on the grass playing 
with flowers. He took her up and called to the other 
hunters to come and look at her, and they were so de- 
lighted at finding her that they let the deer escape. 
One of them carried her home in his arms, and they 
were as well satisfied as if they had had a most 
successful hunt. The house where the hunters lived 
was in the midst of the green-wood, and they made a 
soft bed for the child, and fed her with sweet milk. 
At first she cried continually, for she missed her bear 
sadly ? but the hunters played with her and were so 
kind to her that she soon became happy again. The 
hunters named her Atalanta, and when she grew 
bigger, they took her with them when they went out 
hunting. Atalanta enjoyed roaming through the woods 
and running after the wild animals more than anything 
else, and she let the hunters have no peace till they 
gave her a spear of her own. Her feet became swift and 



86 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

her arms strong, and she killed many animals and was 
a very skilful huntress, but whenever a she-bear came 
across her path she took greit care to do her no harm. 
She was taller and stronger than other maidens, and at 
the same time very beautiful. When she heard of the 
hunt that King Oeneus had proclaimed, she at once set 
out for Calydon, expecting greatly to enjoy the dangerous 
chase. 

King Oeneus entertained the heroes for nine days, 
and they amused themselves with feasts and all kinds 
of games. The tenth day was fixed for the hunt, and 
it was agreed that whoever should kill the boar was to 
receive the skin and the head as the prize of honour. 
There were present, however, some brothers of Queen 
Althaea who were ill-mannered and discourteous, and 
who said that Atalanta should not go with them, for 
that it would be a disgrace to them all their lives if 
they went out hunting with a woman ; but Meleager 
had conceived a great love for Atalanta, and would not 
allow her to be excluded. So she set out with the 
others for the forest where the boar had his lair. They 
were attended by their servants, who roused the wild 
beast by making a great clapping with their hands, 
and drove him out into an open space in the middle of 
the forest, while the heroes stood round among the 
trees. At first he remained in the middle of the open 
space tearing up the earth with his tusks, his eyes 
burning like fire and his bristles standing up straight 
from his back, and grunting so frightfully that the 
heart of many a brave hero beat, and that not altogether 
for joy. But when the heroes hurled their spears at 
.him, the boar rushed to where the first spear came 



MELEAGER AND ATALANTA. 87^ 

from and ripped open the body of the hero with his 
tusks, so that he was soon lying dead in a pool of his 
own blood. After this he spied another hero, and with 
him it fared no better than with the first. Then another 
hero aimed at him, but he shot too high, and the spear 
hit one of his friends and pierced him through ; so three 
lives had already been sacrificed, and the boar had not 
lost a drop of blood. It was now the turn of Atalanta 
to throw her spear, and she hit the wild boar in the 
back causing the blood to gush out; then someone else 
hit him in the eye, and at last the spear of Meleager 
pierced his side at a vital spot and inflicted a mortal 
wound. He could no longer stand up, and was obliged 
to vent his fury on the innocent earth, and after rolling 
about in great pain for a little while, he died. 

The heroes cut off his head, and severed his skin 
from his body and gave it to Meleager as the prize of 
honour, because it was he who had given the wild boar 
his death-wound. But Meleager said, ' Atalanta was 
the first to hit the beast,' and he presented her with 
the prize as a token of love and regard. The skin made 
in truth a splendid mantle, reaching from the maiden's 
shoulder right down to her feet, and as she stood in the 
forest, radiant with beauty, with the skin thrown over 
her left shoulder, and with the bleeding head in one 
hand, while in the other she held her hunting-spear, 
she looked like the goddess Artemis returning from the 
chase. But the brothers of Queen Althaea who had 
wished to prevent Atalanta from going out hunting 
with them, were greatly annoyed, and they spoke 
rudely to her and snatched away her hunting- spear. 
This made Meleager very angry, and a violent quarrel 



88 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

tool place, in which Meleager drew his sword and slew 
his uncles : he was quickly roused to anger, and they 
had provoked him beyond his power of endurance, but 
as soon as they were dead he felt very sorry for his 
mother's sake, for he knew that she was very fond of 
her brothers, unmannerly fellows though they were. 
The servants made biers out of green branches and 
laid the dead men upon them, and they all, heroes and 
servants, went back together into the city. 

But a man who had taken the part of the two 
brothers went on in front to the palace, and told 
the queen that her brothers had been murdered by 
Meleager. Then the queen's sorrow passed all bounds, 
and she wept and tore her hair. It was the custom at 
that time, that if a man was murdered, his relations 
should avenge his death upon the murderer, as this 
was considered a way of doing honour to his memory, 
and in the first burst of her resentment she fetched 
the piece of stick on which the life of Meleager de- 
pended, and threw it into a fire that happened to be 
burning on the hearth. The flames gradually consumed 
it, and as the last spark went out, Meleager, who was 
on his way home with the other heroes, fell down dead. 
By the time the queen heard that her son was dead, 
however, her anger had already passed away, and she 
was filled with unspeakable remorse for having cut 
short his life. She did not weep as she had done, 
before, but she felt that she could, not bear to live any 
longer, and she went into her bed-chamber and hanged 
herself. When this was known, everyone was deeply 
grieved; the old king would not leave his room, and 
for a long time, refused to eat or drink, and the heroes 



MELEAGFER AND ATALANTA. 89 

dispersed to their homes without caring to stay for the 
hunting feast. 

Atalanta went back to her forest leaving the skin 
of the boar behind her, for she would have had no 
pleasure in keeping what would always have reminded 
her of the death of Meleager. She roamed about the 
forest as before from morning till night, and was never so 
happy as when she was among the green trees. Now the 
fame of her beauty had spread far and wide, and many 
suitors came to ask her to marry them. But she did 
not wish to marry, and as her suitors would not leave 
off pressing her, she said that anyone who liked might 
race with her, and if he beat her he should be her hus- 
band, but if she overtook him he must die. Many of 
her lovers lost their lives in this manner, for though 
Atalanta always gave a good start, she very soon over- 
took her competitor and stabbed him in the back with 
her Jrimting-spear. 

After a time, however, a man named Milanion re- 
solved to try his chance, who was beloved by the god- 
dess Aphrodite on account of his great beauty, and as 
she was unwilling that he should lose his life like the 
others, she gave him three golden apples and told 
him how to make use of them. He hid them in the 
folds of his dress, and as soon as he heard Atalanta 
coming up behind him, he took out one of the apples 
and threw it down on the ground, where it glittered so 
beautifully in the sunshine, that Atalanta could not 
resist stooping to pick it up. Milanion thus gained a 
minute, and the next time he found that she was close 
behind him, he threw down the second apple, and again 
Atalanta allowed him to escape while she stopped for 



9C MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

it. A third time the same thing happened when they 
were at a very short distance from the goal, and thus 
Milanion reached it first and won the race, and Atalanta 
became his wife and went home with him. And he was 
such a noble hero that she never repented of having 
allowed herself to be conquered by the golden apples. 



91 



XXIV. 

ADMETUS AND ALCESTIS. 

Apollo once displeased Zeus by acting against his 
wishes, and the king of the gods said that for a punish- 
ment he must serve a mortal for the space of a year, 
and that the mortal must not know that he was a god, 
but treat him just like any other slave. So Apollo 
entered the service of the young king Admetus, who 
made him the keeper of his flocks. Admetus was a 
good master, and Apollo found himself well-treated, 
and he repaid the kindness he received by making the 
flocks prosper and increase till there were none like 
them in the whole country. Admetus had never had 
such a good herdsman, and he treated him even better 
than his other servants. When the year had passed, 
Apollo told him who he was, and said that if ever 
Admetus was in need and prayed to him, he w T ould 
come and help him. Then Apollo went back to Olym- 
pus, and Admetus had another herdsman, but Apollo 
still blessed the flocks, so that they continued to 
prosper. 

Time passed by and Admetus wished to marry, and 
he travelled through the country seeking for the fairest 
and noblest woman in the land to be his wife. He 
heard that no one could compare with Alcestis, the 



( J'2 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

daughter of King Pelias, and he went to her father 
•and asked to be allowed to marry her. But the king 
said that his daughter was not to be won so easily, and 
that whoever wanted her for his wife must come and 
sue for her in a chariot drawn by a lion and a wild 
boar. Admetus was a brave hero and a skilled hunts- 
man, but his heart sank when he heard this, for he 
feared he should never be able to procure such a team 
as this, and tame them for his service. Then he re- 
membered how Apollo had promised to help him in 
the time of need, and he praved to him, and Apollo 
came and asked what he wanted. When he had been 
told what it was, he went into the forest with Admetus, 
and gave chase to a lion whom he caught and held fast 
by the mane, although the lion roared horribly and 
tried to snap at him with his great jaws. Presently 
he spied a boar and pursued him also, making the 
lion run by his side ; and when he had caught the boar, 
he grasped him by the ear and dragged him along too, 
so that he had the lion on one side of him and the 
boar on the other. The wild animals looked at each 
other angrily and tried to bite one another, but Apollo 
would not let them do so. He brought them out of 
the forest and harnessed them to a magnificent chariot, 
and he had a goad with which he pricked them when- 
ever they tried to hurt one another, until at last they 
were tame and obedient to the rein. Admetus how- 
ever would not have been able to keep them under 
control, so Apollo drove them himself, and thus Ad- 
metus arrived at the palace of King Pelias with the 
god for his charioteer, and with the team that the king 
had required, and a second time asked for his daughter's 



ADMETUS AND ALCESTIS. 93 

hand in marriage. The king could no longer refuse, 
and when he had promised that Admetus should have 
the beautiful Alcestis for his wife, Apollo drove back 
into the forest and released the two wild animals. 
Soon afterwards the wedding was celebrated in the 
palace with great magnificence, and Apollo was one of 
the guests. As a wedding-present, he brought a pro- 
mise from the goddesses of Fate, that if ever Admetus 
were sick and in danger of death and one of his 
nearest relations would consent to die instead of him, 
the life thus offered would be accepted instead of the 
life of Admetus, and he would become well again. 

Admetus and Alcestis loved each other dearly, and 
lived happily together for many years. But after some 
time had passed, Admetus was smitten with a sore 
sickness, and everyone said that he must die unless his 
life could be saved according to the promise of Apollo. 
The people thought that as his father and mother were 
now very old and could not hope to live much longer 
in any case, they would be willing to die instead of 
Admetus ; but they loved life more than they loved 
their son, and would not part with it until they were 
obliged. Then the beautiful Alcestis went into her 
chamber and prayed to the gods that they would 
allow, her to give up her life to save her husband, 
and when she had ended her prayer, she lay down 
on the bed and died. At the same moment Admetus 
became suddenly well, and was able to stand up and 
walk about. . He did not know how it was that he 
had been so quickly cured until he went into the 
chamber of Alcestis, and saw her lying dead upon the 
couch; then he understood how it was, but he felt that 



94 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

lie would much rather have died himself. All through 
the palace there was loud lamentation, for all the house- 
hold loved Alcestis dearly because she was so good and 
kind to them. Admetus would not leave her couch, 
but sat beside it holding her cold hand, which was 
ever wet with his tears. Night came on, and morning 
dawned again, but he gave no heed to it, and the corpse 
had already become quite cold — when suddenly it began 
to grow warm again, and presently Alcestis heaved a 
deep sigh, opened her eyes, and was once more alive. 

Never before had such a wonder taken place, and 
this was how it came to pass. When Alcestis died, 
her shade passed into the Lower World, and the Shadow- 
Leader, who conducted the dead thither, told the queen 
of the Lower World the reason of her death. So many 
shadows came into their dominions who had had a sad 
end, that the gods of the Lower World had at last ex- 
hausted all their pity, and ceased to weep for them. 
But when the queen heard how Alcestis had died in 
the full bloom of her youth and beauty in order that 
Admetus might live, she was deeply moved, and com- 
manded the Shadow -Leader to take her back to the 
Upper World and restore her to life. 

So Alcestis awoke to life again, and she lived with 
her husband in happiness and prosperity for many 
years after this ; gods and men united to do them 
honour, and when they had reached a good old age, 
they both died at the same time. 



95 



XXV. 

PERSEUS. 

There was once a king of Argos called Acrisius, who 
had an only daughter. Her name was Danae and she 
was very beautiful, but the Oracle said that she would 
have a son through whom Acrisius would lose his life. 
This frightened Acrisius very much, and he had a large 
brazen room made for Danae to live in under the earth, 
where she had everything she wished for, but she was 
never allowed to see the light of day, nor any man. 
Her father thought he would thus be able to pre- 
vent her from marrying secretly and having a son, and 
for a time everything went on according to his wishes. 
But Zeus, the king of the gods, loved Danae, and he 
one day changed himself into a beautiful golden shower 
of rain, whose shining drops fell down through the 
brazen roof. Thus Zeus was married to Danae, and 
not long afterwards she had a son. Acrisius was very 
angry, and he had the mother and son shut up in a 
wooden chest and cast into the sea. 

The chest was tossed about on the waves, and floated 
far away. On the third day it reached an island where 
there happened to be a man on the shore fishing, who 
was the brother of the king of the island. He drew 
the chest to land and forced open the lid, and when he 



OG MYTHS OF HELLAS, 

saw tlie lovely woman and her child inside it, he took 
them, just as they were, into the house to show them to 
the king his brother, who promised to protect them 
and treat them* kindly. Acrisius thought they had 
perished in the sea, but they were safe on the- island, 
and Danae was quite happy in taking care of her son, 
whom she named Perseus. In the course of time, 
Perseus grew up to be a young man, and he was beauti- 
ful and brave and strong. 

The king of the island wanted to have Danae for 
his wife, but she did not wish to marry him. Then 
the king thought that if it were not for Perseus he 
might compel her to do so, and he sought to find some 
excuse for sending Perseus away on a far journey. 
So one day he called his friends together, and Perseus 
among the rest. He told them that he was going to 
sue for a bride, and that he wished each of them to 
bring him some present to offer to her father ; for it 
was the custom in those days that anyone who wanted 
to win a bride should give costly presents to the father 
of the lady he wished to marry. They all agreed to do 
as the king desired, and he asked most of his friends to 
give him splendid horses, but from Perseus he demanded 
a gift that would involve a difficult and dangerous 
journey to a distant land. At the far end of the world 
there lived three sisters called Grorgons, who instantly 
turned to stone everyone that looked at them ; the 
only one of the three who was mortal was called 
Medusa, and the king commanded Perseus to bring him 
her head, hoping that he would perish in the attempt. 

Perseus had no fear, and at once set out in quest 
of the Gorgon's head. There were three nymphs who 



PERSEUS. 97 

had three precious things without which it would have 
been useless for him to try and obtain it, but no one 
knew where these nymphs lived except the three Grey 
Sisters, who lived far away from any inhabited land, 
and would never reveal the secret of where the nymphs 
were to be found unless, they were compelled to do so. 
They were the sisters of the Gorgons, and had been 
quite grey ever since their birth, and they had only 
one tooth and one eye between them, which they used 
in turns. Perseus went to the cavern where the Grey 
Sisters lived, and watched till one of them took out the 
ey£ and the tooth to pass them to her sister, when he 
sprang forward and snatched them out of her hand, 
and said that he would not give them back till they 
told him where the nymphs lived. So they were 
obliged to tell him, and then he gave them back their 
eye and tooth, and went on to the nymphs who were 
kind to him and gave him the three precious things. 
These were, — first, a pouch in which to place the head 
of Medusa after he had cut it "off; secondly, a pair of 
sandals which enabled anyone who put them on to fly 
through the air ; and, thirdly the helmet of Pluto, 
which made whoever wore it invisible. The gods loved 
Perseus because he was so brave, and Hermes came 
down to earth and gave him a sickle of very sharp steel 
with which to cut off the head of the Gorgon. Perseus 
put on the sandals, and taking the other things with 
him, he flew to the great stream Oceanus which flows 
round the world. There was a rocky island in the 
middle of the stream covered with rank weeds and full 
of serpents, and here the Gorgons lived in a cave. 
When Perseus reached them it was about noondav, and 



98 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

they were asleep. They were larger than mortal 
women, and had great teeth like tusks and brazen 
ha^ls and golden wings, and they had live snakes 
twined among their hair, and everyone who looked at 
them was turned to stone. Perseus heard them snor- 
ing, and he went into the cave on tip-toe so as not to 
wake them. He was obliged to go backwards, for if he 
had looked at them he would have been turned to stone ; 
but he had a. polished shield which he held up before 
him as a mirror, and he could see them in the mirror 
without being harmed. They had stretched them- 
selves out in a row, and lay asleep leaning one against 
the other ; Medusa was smaller than the others, and by 
this he was able to recognise her. Her head was rest- 
ing on a stone, and Perseus held up the shield before 
her and cut through her neck with the sickle till 
the head fell off, and then he took it up, put it into 
the pouch without looking at it, and flew away. But 
the bleeding trunk still palpitated, and the other two 
Gorgons awoke and saw it, and they darted out of the 
cavern after Perseus, that they mignt seize him and 
tear him to pieces with their iron claws. They flew 
through the air looking for him, and they had sharp 
eyes with which they could see to a great distance, but 
they could not find Perseus because he had on the 
helmet of Pluto which made him invisible, and were 
obliged to return without him. Pei*seus \vas mean- 
while on his way home with the dead head in his 
pouch . 

After some days he came to a. country in Africa, 
where there was a king whose name was Cepheus. The 
queen was called Cassiopea, and she was very beautiful 



PERSEUS. 99 

and very proud of her beauty, and every day she went 
down to the sea that she might have the pleasure of 
looking at her picture in the water. One day she sajyi 
that she was more beautiful than the sea-nymphs, and 
the nymphs heard it and were so angry with her that 
they begged Poseidon, the sea-god, to punish her for 
her pride. Then Poseidon created a huge monster 
which came up every day out of the sea and wasted 
the land, devouring men and cattle, so that there was 
great distress among the people. They asked the Oracle 
what, they should do, and the Oracle said that they must 
give the king's daughter to the monster to devour, and 
then he would not come again any more. The king's 
daughter was called Andromeda, and she was beautiful 
like her mother, but she was not vain of her beauty, 
and the king and queen loved her very dearly. She 
was their only child, and they cherished her as their 
most precious treasure, and refused to give her up to 
be food for the horrible monster. But at last they 
were obliged to consent to this, and the day came when 
Andromeda was to be taken to a rock in the sea and 
bound fast with iron chains, so that she could not run 
away when the monster came to devour her. The king 
and queen wept bitterly, and many people followed 
them to the shore, weeping also. 

They had just reached the rock when Perseus also 
approached it, and he took the helmet off his head so 
that he could be seen, and asked why the beautiful 
princess was to be chained to it. They told him all 
about it, and he said that if they would promise to let 
hirr have Andromeda for his wife, he would undertake 
to kill the monster and deliver her. The king had 



100 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

already promised Andromeda in marriage to a brother 
of his named Phineus, but though she was in such 
great peril, Phineus did not trouble himself much about 
it, and had no intention of risking his life for her. 
Perseus, however, felt very differently; he longed to 
have her for his wife, and the parents promised him 
that if he slew the monster he should be their son-in- 
law. Soon afterwards the monster appeared, rising up 
from the bottom of the sea, and making great waves as 
he swam along. Perseus waited till he came near the 
shore, and then flew down and struck him a mighty 
blow on the neck with his sword. The monster 
snapped at him with his great jaws, but Perseus had 
already flown up high above him, and before the mon- 
ster could look round he had received another wound, 
and he lashed his tail in fury till the water was quite 
red with his blood, but he could not reach Perseus who 
flew round him and struck him again and again, till at 
last he bled to death. 

Then there was great joy among the people : the 
chains were taken off from Andromeda, and the king 
and queen kissed her,, feeling as if she had been raised 
from the dead. They went back into the city, and 
Perseus walked by the side of Andromeda, who liked 
well the appearance of the brave and noble hero. On 
the seventh day the marriage took place, and they 
offered sacrifices, and danced and sang and feasted. 
Phineus however was not there, but in the middle of 
the marriage feast he came into the hall of the palace 
at the head of a large band of armed servants, and said 
that he would kill Perseus and all who sided with him, 
for that Andromeda had been promised to him, and 



PERSEUS. 101 

ought to be his wife. Then a struggle took place in 
the hall, and Perseus slew several of the servants, but 
they were twenty to one, and it was no fair fight. At 
last Perseus cried out with a loud voice, ' Let all who 
are on my side turn away their faces,' and then he 
thrust his hand into the pouch, drew forth the head 
of Medusa, and held it out towards Phineus and his 
servants, and in a moment they were all turned to 
stone. 

The king gave Perseus a beautiful ship, in which 
he sailed with Andromeda to the island where his 
mother was. He found her in sore distress, for the 
king: of the island had tried to compel her to marry 
him, and she had fled for refuge to the altar. Those 
who took refuge at an altar were under the protection 
of the gods as long as they remained there, and no one 
dared to touch them ; but the king commanded that no 
one should bring Danae anything to eat, and he placed 
watchmen all round to see that his orders were obeyed, 
for he thought that when she was absolutely starving 
she would be compelled to leave the altar, and then he 
would be able to seize her and make her his wife. But 
at this moment Perseus arrived at the island in his 
ship, and when he heard where his mother was, he 
went to her, and she told him everything, which made 
him very angry. The treacherous king heard that 
Perseus had come back, and he was afraid, and sum- 
moned his servants to go with him to the altar to kill 
Perseus. Then Perseus again drew forth the head of 
Medusa and turned them all to stone, and he gave the 
kingdom to the king's brother, who had always been 
kind to Danae. 



102 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

Danae had a great love for her father, although he 
had thrust her away from him, and as Perseus also 
wished .very much to see his grandfather, they deter- 
mined to pay him a visit, and they sailed with An- 
dromeda to Argos in the ship that Cepheus had given 
them. But when the old Acrisius heard that his 
daughter and her son were coming, he was afraid, 
for he remembered what the Oracle had said, and he 
left the country, telling no one where he was going ; so 
that when the ship reached Argos, Acrisius was not 
there. And as it happened that a rich king had 
lately died, and that games were to be celebrated in his 
honour, Perseus thought he would go and take part in 
these games, for anyone could go that liked, and those 
who did best would receive prizes by which their 
names would become known and honoured throughout 
Greece. Acrisius also went to the games, for he wanted 
to see what was going on, and he thought that there 
he would surely be safe from his grandson. No one 
knew who Perseus was, but he excelled all others and 
won the best prizes. One of the things they did was 
to try who could throw farthest a metal ball called a dis- 
kos. Perseus was just going to take his turn at throwing 
the diskos, when it slipped out of his hand, and flying 
sideways, hit the old Acrisius on the head and killed 
him. Thus it happened that Acrisius was running to 
meet his fate at the very moment when he thought he 
was escaping from it. Perseus was very sorrowful when 
he heard that it was his grandfather, the king of Argos, 
whom he had killed accidentally, and he had the corpse 
brought to., Argos and buried with great magnificence. 
The kingdom of Argos was now his, but he could never 



PEESEUS. 103 

forget that he had killed his grandfather, and this made 
the country so distasteful to him that he was glad to 
exchange with another king who ruled over the cities 
of Mycenae and Tiryns. 

Perseus gave the three precious things by means of 
which he had obtained the head of Medusa, to Hermes, 
to be returned to the nymphs, and the Gorgon's head 
he presented to the goddess Athene, who fastened it to 
her shield. He lived honoured and esteemed to the 
end of his days, and his wife Andromeda bore him 
many beautiful children. 



1C4 Ml TBS OF HELLAS. 



XXVI. 

HERACLES. 

1. The War with the Teleboae. 

Perseus had been dead a long time, and his son 
Electryon who succeeded him as king was already an 
old man, when a dispute arose between him and a 
nephew of his named Pterelaus. Pterelaus was king 
of the Teleboae, who lived on several islands, and he 
maintained that he had a better right to the cities of 
Mycenae, and Tiryns than Electryon, because he was 
descended from the eldest son of Perseus ; and one day 
he sent his sons, and many of the Teleboae with them, 
in ships to Mycenae, and told them to say to Electryon 
that he must be prepared to give up the kingdom to 
him. Electryon was very angry, and sent the Tele- 
boae away without paying any attention to their mes- 
sage. They left the city, but on their way back to their 
ships they came upon the king's droves of cattle which 
were tended by his sons and servants, and they began 
to fight with them, and the fight did not stop till all 
the sons of Electryon were killed but one, and also 
all the sons of Pterelaus except one, who had remained 
behind with the ships and had taken no part in the 
fight. The Teleboae had however got rather the best 



HERACLES. 105 

of it, and those of them who were left drove the cattle 
to their ships and sailed away. Some time afterwards 
it happened that Electryon got back his cattle, for the 
Teleboae had given them as a present to a king who 
paid them to him for ransom ; but the cattle could not 
make up for the loss of his sons for whom he grieved 
bitterly, and he determined to be revenged on Ptere- 
laus and told his servants to prepare to start with him 
for the islands of the Teleboae. 

There was at that time at Mycenae a young hero 
named Amphitryon, who had come to ask for the hand 
of Electryon's daughter Alcmene in marriage, and it 
was arranged that he should have charge of the king- 
dom during the absence of • Electryon. But one day, 
just before the king was to start on his expedition, it 
happened that he w r as overlooking his flocks with 
Amphitryon, when the young hero threw his stick at 
a cow that was leaving the herd, and the stick bounded 
back by accident from the cow's horns and hit the aged 
Electryon on the head, so that he was killed instantly. 
Amphitryon was obliged to leave the kingdom on ac- 
count of this unintentional murder, and he went to 
Thebes, where King Creon purged him from the stain 
of blood by means of numerous sacrifices. During his 
absence, however., a brother of Electryon, named 
Sthenelus, contrived to gain possession of the kingdom 
for him self, and to banish the two children of Electryon, — 
his daughter Alcmene, and the one son who had not been 
killed by the Teleboae. They were obliged to give way 
to Sthenelus, who was stronger than they, and came to 
live in Thebes wdiere Amphitryon was, but Alcmene 
said that though she loved him she would never marry 



106 MYTHS OF HhLLAS. 

Mm till he had avenged the murder of her brothers. 
Amphitryon accordingly prepared to march against the 
Teleboae, and sought to find brave heroes who would 
consent to go with him. 

He first of all asked KingCreon for his help, but Creon 
was just then in great trouble at home, for a fox had 
for some time taken up his abode in the fortress Cad- 
mea, and had devoured numbers of people ; he was 
under the protection of the gods, and it had been 
decreed by the Fates that he should never be caught. 
So the Thebans, finding that they could not get rid of 
him, had made a truce with him by which they agreed 
to give him a boy every month to devour, and on this 
condition he spared the rest of the people. Creon 
therefore promised to go with Amphitryon if he would 
first help him to deliver the country from the terrible 
fox. Now Amphitryon had heard that there was a 
wonderful dog in Athens ^ which was also under the 
protection of the gods, and that it had been decreed 
that nothing that he pursued could ever escape him ; so 
he went to the hero who owned the dog, and promised 
him a share of the spoil which he hoped to bring back 
from the island of the Teleboae if he would lend him the 
dog for a time, and the hero agreed to do so. Amphi- 
tryon took the dog back to Thebes, and set out with 
him in pursuit of the fox, and the dog ran after him as 
fast as lightning. The Thebans thought that now one 
or other of the prophecies must prove false ; either the 
fox, who was never to be caught w T ould be overtaken, or 
the dog who was never to pursue in vain would be 
baffled. But when the dog had got so close to the fox 
that he was on the point of snapping at him, they both 



HERACLES. 107 

remained motionless, and the Thebans saw that they 
had been turned to stone. 

Then Creon said that he was quite willing to ac- 
company Amphitryon, and the hero of Athens agreed to 
go also, and many other heroes, and they all embarked 
for the islands of the Teleboae, but they could not con- 
quer King Pterelaus, for he had many soldiers and knew 
well the art of war. The daughter of Pterelaus, however, 
had seen Amphitryon from the city walls and had con- 
ceived "a great love for him which made her secretly 
sorry when the Teleboae conquered, and glad when one 
day they were the losers ; and she resolved to betray 
her father and her fellow-citizens into the hands of 
Amphitryon, because she thought that if she helped 
him to gain the victory, he would feel grateful to her 
and would make her his wife. Now Pterelaus was im- 
mortal through the good- will of Poseidon, who had 
given him a golden hair which he kept carefully hidden 
away under his grey locks, for it had the power of 
keeping him alive. But one day while he was asleep, 
his daughter came in on tiptoe, sought for the golden 
hair and pulled it out, — and immediately his breath 
stopped short, and Pterelaus was dead. 

The Teleboae could no longer resist their enemies 
now that they were deprived of the advice of their wise 
king, and in a short time Amphitryon had gained pos- 
session of the chief town and of all the islands, and had 
avenged upon the Teleboae the slaughter of the sons of 
Electryon. The daughter of Pterelaus thought that 
she would now be the wife of Amphitryon, but things 
turned out very differently from her expectations, for 
as soon as Amphitryon saw her, he drew his sword and 



108 MYTHS OF BELLAS. 

stabbed her ; he knew that she had killed her father, 
but he did not know why she had done so. Then the 
heroes carried the booty to their ships and sailed away 
home. 

2. The Birth and Youth of Heracles, 

Alcmene was so very beautiful that Zeus, the king 
of the gods, loved her, and when Amphitryon was far 
away with the other heroes, Zeus took his form and 
went to Alcmene. . He acted and spoke just like 
Amphitryon, and told her all about the battles and 
how they had won the victory, and he even showed her 
the helmets and shields of the Teleboae, for he had 
made Hermes, the messenger of the gods, steal them 
from the booty of Amphitryon. Alcmene had no sus- 
picion that it was any other than her lover who had 
come back after fulfilling her wishes with regard to the 
Teleboae, and she promised to marry him that very 
day ; and Zeus kissed her and became her husband. 
Some time after this, Amphitryon returned to Thebes 
and was very much astonished when Alcmene told him 
that she had already been married to him. They could 
not understand it, and asked the seer Tiresias what it 
meant. He told them that it was Zeus in the form of 
Amphitryon who had been with Alcmene, and the 
Theban women thought it was a great honour for her 
to have been married for a time to the king of the 
gods. The wedding was now celebrated over again, 
and all the heroes who had been to the war with the 
Teleboae feasted with Amphitryon and Alcmene till far 
into the night. Some time afterwards, Alcmene had 
two children whom she named Heracles and Iphicles ; 



HERACLES. 109 

one was the son of Zeus, and the other the son of Am- 
phitryon. There was no difficulty in knowing which 
was the child of the god, for Heracles was far bigger 
than such young children usually are. Gods and men 
took pleasure in the fine strong child, all but the god- 
dess Hera, who hated him, and even before his birth 
began to do all she could to injure him. Zeus had 
decreed that the next child born of the race of Perseus 
should rule over the cities of Mycenae and Tiryns, 
thinking that this would be Heracles, for Alcmene Was 
the granddaughter of Perseus ; but Hera persuaded the 
goddesses who arranged about the birth of children to 
let a son of Sthenelus, Alcmene's uncle, be born first. 
His father named him Eurystheus, and- as he had been 
born before Heracles, he became king of the two cities of 
Mycenae and Tiryns after the death of Sthenelus. 

Heracles was about eight months old, when one 
morning, just as it was beginning to grow light, Hera 
sent two great snakes into the room where he was 
sleeping, near the bed of Alcmene, in one of the shields 
which Amphitryon had brought back from the country 
of the Teleboae as part of the spoil. The snakes crept 
into the shield and began to twine themselves round 
the child. Just then Alcmene woke, and she jumped 
up and ran to call the people of the house to kill the 
snakes, though she was afraid it was even then too late, 
and that the child must have already been crushed to 
death by them. But when she came back with the 
others, she saw Heracles sitting up in the shield and 
holding one of the snakes in each hand ; he had seized 
them each by the neck, and was squeezing them so 
tight that their tongues were hanging out, and very 



110 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

soon they were dead. Then he threw them away and 
went to sleep again; and the Thebans knew that a 
mighty hero had been born in their city. 

When Heracles grew older, he learned all the 
things that heroes need to know, — how to guide the 
war-chariot, how to use the spear and bow, and how to 
fight with the fist and the sword. He was taught all 
this by the noblest heroes, and also by a Centaur named 
Chiron, who, like all the Centaurs, had a curious form 
— half of their body was that of a man, and the other 
half that of a horse. Chiron had been specially gifted 
with immortality, and he was very wise, and taught 
Heracles many things, especially how to know the stars, 
and how to heal wounds, and he told him stories of 
the gods and of the old heroes. 

Heracles could easily be distinguished from all other 
men, for when he was eighteen years old he measured 
twelve feet in height, and he had marvellous strength, 
and his eyes glittered like coals of fire. He had more- 
over a generous nature, and was always ready to help 
all true and good men. Amphitryon made him keeper 
of his flocks which pastured on Mount Cithaeron, and 
never before had such a lordly herdsman been seen. 
It happened once that a lion took up his abode on the 
mountain, and broke in among the flocks, and Heracles 
thought to himself, < If I were to kill the lion, my flocks 
would not only be able to feed in safety, but I should 
also get a handsome skin to 'dress myself in.' So he 
set out for the mountain-passes where the lion had his 
lair, armed with nothing hut a strong stick and a 
knife. When he came to the lion's cave, the huge 
beast sprang out upon him, but Heracles gave him a 



HERACLES. 1 1 1 

good blow on the nose which made him stagger back, 
and then he belaboured him with his stick till he was 
nearly dead, and lastly gave him his death-wound with 
the knife. Then he sat down quietly, and cut open the 
body of the lion and took off the skin, which he put on 
as a cloak as soon as it was dry. The jaws covered his 
head like a helmet, while the rest of the skin fell from 
his shoulders to his knees, and he twisted the fore-feet 
into a knot over his chest in order to prevent the wind 
from blowing it off. In this fashion he came down 
from the mountain, and anyone who had seen him 
from behind would have thought that a lion had grown 
out of his shoulders. It never occurred to him, how- 
ever, that he had done anything out of the way in 
killing the lion. 

Some time afterwards, there came along the road 
some men who had been sent by Erginus, the king of 
the powerful Minyae, to demand tribute from the 
Thebans. Ten years before this a Theban had thrown 
a stone at the father of Erginus and hit him on the 
head, so that he was carried home dying. Before he 
expired he charged his son to avenge his blood, and 
Erginus made war upon the Thebans and killed a 
number of them. He had also made them give him a 
hundred cows every year for the last nine years, and the 
messengers were now on their way to fetch the tribute 
for the tenth time. Heracles asked them who they were 
and where they were going, and when he heard that 
they were the messengers of the Minyae, his blood 
boiled so that he grew quite red in the face, for it 
angered him to think that the city of Thebes, to which 
he himself belonged, should pay tribute to a foreign 



112 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

king. He told the messengers to return and never 
come again, and when they refused to obey, he threw 
them on the ground, notwithstanding their numbers, 
and tied their hands behind their backs ; then he cut 
off their ears and noses, and told them to take these to 
the king for tribute. Thus outraged, the messengers 
returned and entreated the king to avenge them, and 
Erginus swore that he" would not leave a man alive in 
Thebes, nor one stone upon another. But Heracles 
went to Thebes and called the citizens to arms, saying 
that he would be their leader. The gods equipped him 
right gloriously for the fight : Hermes gave him a sword, 
Apollo a bow and arrows, Hephaestus trappings of pure 
gold, and Athene a coat of mail. But a sword was too 
light and delicate, a weapon for the powerful hand of 
Heracles, so he went out into the forest and tore up a 
stout young beechtree, which he trimmed and used as 
a club. When the battle began, Heracles looked, in 
comparison with the Minyae, like a lion among a flock 
of sheep. He killed King Erginus and put his army 
to flight, and obliged the Minyae to give the Thebans 
two hundred cows every year for the future. King 
Creon had a beautiful daughter named Megara, and he 
gave her to Heracles for a wife out of gratitude to 
him for having conquered the Minyae. 

3. The Madness of Heracles, and his First Six Labours, 

Heracles loved his wife very dearly, and the gods sent 
them three beautiful children, all of whom were sons. 
They lived a peaceful and happy life together, Heracles 
went out hunting and killed wild beasts, and when he 



HERACLES. 1 1 3 

came home he played with his children. But Hera still . 
hated him, and she one day confused his thoughts and 
made him quite mad ; and in his madness he seized his 
children and threw them into the fire, so that they 
perished miserably. When the madness left him he 
could hardly endure life, so distressed was he at what he 
had done, and he could not bear to remain in the place 
where such a misfortune had happened to him. He 
left Thebes and went, first of all, to a man who knew 
how to purge him from the stain of blood ; then he be- 
took himself to Delphi and asked the Pythia where he 
must live in the future. The Pythia answered, ' Go to 
Mycenae and serve King Eurystheus for twelve years ; 
allow him to impose upon you twelve hard Labours, and 
accomplish these to the best of your power.' Heracles 
was well pleased with this sentence, and was quite willing 
to perform the most difficult tasks, even such as would 
be set him by a deadly enemy like Eurystheus who 
hated and feared Heracles, thinking that he would some 
day take away the kingdom from him because it had 
belonged to his own grandfather Electryon. Heracles 
went to Mycenae and said to Eurystheus that he would 
serve him for the space of twelve years, and that during 
that time he w T ould accomplish any twelve tasks that 
Eurystheus might choose to set him. The king was 
very glad to hear this, and he at once commanded 
Heracles to bring him the skin of the Nemean lion, 
hoping that he would perish in trying to secure it. 

The Nemean lion had his lair near the town of 
JNemea, and his fame had spread far and wide. He had 
never bled from a wound, for his skin was so thick that 
no steel could pierce it. Heracles set out in pursuit of 

I 



114 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

the lion, and when he had found him, he shot at him 
with his bow and arrows, but they bounded off as if 
from the hardest stone. Finding that the arrows were 
of no use, Heracles then attacked him with his club, 
but the lion did not care to fight with him and ran 
away into the thickest part of the forest. Heracles 
ran after him, and chased him from morning till- night. 
At last he came to a great cave and ran in there. 
Heracles noticed that the cave had another mouth, and 
he thought to himself, ' If I were to go in after him, 
he would still be able to escape.' So he first of all 
brought stones and blocked up one of the entrances, 
while the lion, who had never run so far before in 
one day, lay quietly in the dark in-side, tired and 
frightened, and then he went into the cave and 
wrestled with him. The roaring of the lion echoed 
horribly from the walls of the cave, but Heracles was 
not frightened, and he wound his arm round the neck 
of the beast and pressed him with all his might against 
his own body until he died. Heracles' could not take 
off his skin for he had brought no knife with him, 
so he hoisted the whole lion on to his shoulders, and 
went back to Mycenae. When he threw the huge 
beast on to the ground before Eurystheus, the king 
turned pale for his bad conscience made him afraid, 
and he thought, ' If he can strangle a lion like this, 
lie would certainly not find it difficult to make an end 
of me.' So he at once sent him off to perform his 
second Labour, which was to destroy the Lernean 
Hydra, and during his absence he had an iron room 
built under the earth that looked like a cage for wild 
beasts, for it had a grating of iron bars. This was for 



HERACLES. 115 

Eurystheus to get into when Heracles came back, in 
order that he might speak to him through the grating, 
so terribly afraid was he of the strong man. 

Heracles set out in a war chariot, taking with him 
his young cousin Iolaus as his charioteer, and they 
soon came to the marshy district near the town of 
Lerne, where the Hydra lived. The Hydra was a huge 
snake with one body and nine heads, the centre one of 
which was immortal. She devoured any men or beasts 
that came near her, and destroyed the fields of corn. 
She had her den in a cavern close by a clear running 
stream, and when Heracles and Iolaus arrived at the 
place, she was lying stretched out on the ground, for 
she had just swallowed a few cows. She looked at the 
heroes with all her staring eyes, but did not move, 
because she was not hungry. However Heracles did 
not care to wait, so he threw burning javelins at her, 
which scorched her skin and made her furious with 
pain. She crept out of the cavern and glide 1 up a tall 
oak tree, and all her nine heads shot down venom at 
Heracles from above him. But Heracles was on the 
alert ; he held his club in his right hand, and twined his 
left arm round the Hydra just at the place where the 
ninefold neck grew out of her body, and when she lashed 
her tail about, he pressed her still more tightly against 
himself, so that she would have been only too glad to 
run away if she could. Now the Hydra had formed a 
friendship with a great lobster, and he, seeing that 
his friend was in danger, crept up to Heracles and 
scratched his foot with his claws. But he got decidedly 
the worst of it, for Heracles smote his shell with his 
club and broke it into a thousand pieces, so that the 

i 2 



116 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

poor lobster died. Then Heracles heaved a mighty 
blow on one of the Hydra's nine heads and struck it 
off, but two new heads immediately sprang from the 
bleeding neck, and every time he smote off a head, two 
more sprang up to replace it. Heracles now saw that 
he must set to work in a different manner, so he told 
Iolaus to set the forest on fire, and to pass a piece of 
burning wood over each neck as soon as he had cut off 
the head. In this way all the roots from which the 
heads grew were burnt away, and Heracles was thus able 
to kill all the head's that were mortal. The last was 
immortal, but he hewed it off also, and buried it, and 
rolled a huge stone on to the top of it. After this, there 
came a rain which extinguished the burning forest. 
The gall of the Hydra was the worst poison ir the 
world, so Heracles cut open the Hydra's body and 
dipped his arrows into the gall, which made them 
absolutely deadly : if a man were only scratched even, 
by an arrow poisoned in this way, he must die. 

Eurystheus was in his cage when Heracles came 
back from his conflict with the Hydra, and he com- 
manded him to catch the Ceryneian hind, and bring 
her alive to Mycenae. This hind was under the pro- 
tection of Artemis the goddess of the chase, and was 
very beautiful : her coat was milk-white, and her horns 
were of the purest gold. She could run so fast that 
the wind was quite oat of breath when he tried to race 
with her, and, after having run the whole clay long, she 
would skip about quite merrily without being in the 
least tired. At the command of Eurystheus, Heracles 
gave chase to her, and they took neither rest nor food, 
nor did thev heed rain or sunshine, but ran on da and 



HERACLES. 1 1 7 

night without stopping for a whole year. At last they 
came to a river, and while the hind was hesitating 
whether she should jump into it, Heracles quickly took 
an unpoisoned arrow and shot at her. The purple-red 
blood flowed out over her little white coat, and she 
groaned with pain. She forgot to run away, and 
Heracles was able to seize her. He had only wounded 
her slightly with the arrow because he did not want to 
do her any harm, and now he laid cooling herbs upon 
the wound, and placing the hind on his shoulder, he 
carried her to Mycenae, and as soon as Eurystheus had 
seen her, he set her free again and let her run back 
into the forest. 

That was the third Labour of Heracles. For the 
fourth, Eurystheus commanded him to catch the 
Erymanthian boar alive. This boar lived on Mount 
Erymanthus, and no huntsman who had tried to kill 
him had ever come back alive, for the boar had always 
ripped open his body with his tusks. 

On his way to Mount Erymanthus, Heracles came 
to the country of the Centaurs. They were a savage, 
unfriendly race, who had no regard for the duties of 
hospitality ; but one of them, named Pholus, was better 
than the others, and he gave Heracles shelter in his 
cave. He made a fire and roasted a calf for his guest, 
but he himself ate raw meat as he was accustomed to 
do. Heracles enjoyed his meal very much for the long 
journey had made him hungry, and as he was also 
thirsty, he asked the Centaur for a draught of wine- 
Pholus said, ' It is true that I have a great cask of wine 
in my cave, but it belongs to all the Centaurs in common, 
and if they knew that you had drunk any of it, they 



118 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

might kill you.' But Heracles said he was not afraid, 
so Pholus rolled out the cask and drew some wine from 
it. But the wine had such a strong odour that the 
Centaurs smelt it, and they all came to the cavern with 
clubs and spears to kill Heracles. At first he defended 
himself with firebrands only, as he did not wish to do 
more than drive them away, but finding that they would 
not leave him alone, he seized his bow and shot at them 
with the poisoned arrows, and everyone who was hit 
fell down dead. When the others saw that, they took 
to flight, but Heracles had by this time grown furious, 
and vowing that he would not leave one of them alive, 
he pursued them, and they could not escape from his 
arrows. In their distress they ran to the wise Centaur 
Chiron who had been the teacher of Heracles, and em- 
braced his knees, entreating him to ask Heracles to 
have mercy on them. But Heracles would not stop 
shooting, and only took care not to hit Chiron, and his 
eye was so true that he could be sure of hitting nothing 
that he did not. aim at. But an arrow went right 
through the arm of one of the Centaurs who had 
embraced Chiron's knees, and its w*nt grazed his sim. 
Heracles was very much distressed, he threw his bow 
down on the ground, and ran to get herbs that heal 
poisonous wounds. But no herb had any power to heal 
the Hydra's poison, and Chiron suffered horrible tor- 
ture, so that his immortality was a burden to him. 
Then he prayed to Zeus to take away his immortality, 
and Zeus heard him and allowed him to die. But 
Heracles did not stay with him till his death, for he was 
now more angry with the Centaurs than ever, and he 
ran after them and overtook them. They would all 



HERACLLS. 119 

have perished if Poseidon had not had pity on them 
and caused a wall of granite to spring up suddenly 
out of the earth round the Centaurs to protect them 
from him. Then Heracles was obliged to leave them, 
and he turned back and went on his way with a heavy 
heart, full of sad thoughts about Chiron. As soon as 
he was out of sight, the wall sank back into the earth, 
and the Centaurs were able to go home in peace. 

When Heracles reached the foot of Mount Ery- 
manthus he prepared a noose in which to catch the 
wild boar, and soon afterwards he saw him sharpening 
his tusks against an oak tree. Heracles raised a cry 
which made the whole forest echo, and the strong boar 
took to flight. It was winter, and the upper part of 
t the mountain was covered with deep snow. Heracles 
chased the boar up the mountain till he had driven 
him into a snow-field, through which the wild beast 
plodded panting, till he was quite tired out and could 
go no further, and then Heracles slipped the noose over 
his neck and secured him. Then he tied his feet to- 
gether and threw him, feet uppermost, ov^r his left 
shoulder, putting his ^rm round his ne<& to prev cmt him 
from using his tusks, and in this manner he journeyed 
back to Mycenae. Most men would not have thought 
it very cheerful work to travel with such a companion, 
but Heracles was not at all concerned; on the contrary, 
it was the boar who was trembling. Heracles showed 
the boar to Eurystheus through the grating, and then 
killed him. 

Heracles now set out to perform his fifth Labour, 
and thi? time his task was to cleanse the stables of 
Augeas in a single day. Augeas was a rich king of 



120 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

Mis, who had three thousand cattle. At night -the 
cattla always stood in a great court surrounded with 
walls, close to the king's palace, and as it was quite ten 
years since the servants had cleaned it out, there was 
enough refuse in the court to build up a high mountain. 
Heracles went to Augeas and asked if he would give 
him the tenth part of his flocks if he thoroughly cleansed 
his stables in a single day. The king looked upon this 
as such an absolutely impossible feat that he would not 
have minded promising his kingdom as a reward for it, 
so he laughed and said, 6 Set to work, we shall not 
quarrel about the wages,' and he further promised dis- 
tinctly to give Heracles what he asked, and this he did 
in the presence of Phyleus, his eldest son, who happened 
to be there. The next morning Heracles set to work, 
but even his strong arms would have failed to accom- 
plish the task if they had not been aided by his mother- 
wit. He compelled a mighty torrent to work for him, 
but you would hardly guess how he did it. First he 
opened great gates on two opposite sides of the court, 
and then he went to the stream, and when he had 
blocked up its regular course with great stones, he 
conducted it to the court that required to be cleansed, 
so that the water streamed in at one end and streamed 
out at the other, carrying away all the dirt with it. 
Before evening the stream had done its work and was 
restored*to its usual course. 

But when Heracles demanded his reward, Augeas 
denied that he had promised it. However he said that 
he would summon a court of justice and would abide by 
its decision, for he thought to himself, ' The only one 
who heard me make the promise is my son, and he 



HERACLES. 121 

will not witness against me.' A number of wise old 
men were accordingly summoned to the palace to be 
judges, and Phyleus was called upon to witness. But 
Phyleus cared more for justice than for his father's ad- 
vantage, and he said that Augeas had promised the 
tenth part of his flocks to Heracles as a reward for 
cleansing the stables. Then Augeas grew furious, and 
would not allow the judges to pronounce the sentence, 
but banished both Heracles and Phyleus from the 
country, threatening that if ever they were caught in 
his kingdom they would forfeit their lives. Heracles 
went away without Eis reward, but he promised himself 
that when the twelve Labours were accomplished, he 
would come back and punish the king for his faith- 
lessness. 

Again Heracles set out at the command of Eurys- 
theus, and this time he had to drive away the Stym- 
phalian birds, — this was his sixth Labour. Near the 
city of Stymphalus, in the land of Arcadia, there was a 
great lake, whose shores were covered with very dense 
forests where countless birds had built their nests. 
These birds were as large as cranes, and very thievish, 
and there was such a number of them that if they had 
all flown out at once and assembled above the water, it 
would have been pitch-dark all over the great lake. 
Heracles went to the edge of the lake and listened to 
the noise that the birds made, but he could not get at 
them, for they kept themselves hidden among the thick 
boughs where no arrow could reach them. Heracles 
could not think of any means of chasing them from 
among the trees, and was almost in despair, when the 
goddess Athene, who loved all good and brave men, 



122 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

came to his assistance. She gave him a great iron 
rattle that Hephaestus had made, and when Heracles 
shook it, it made such a fearful noise that all the birds 
flew out screaming. Then Heracles shot arrow after 
arrow among them ; a great many of them fell dead 
into the lake, and the rest were so much frightened 
that they flew far away and never came back again. 

4. The Last Six Labours. 

The seventh Labour that Eurystheus imposed upon 
Heracles was to bring the Cretan bull to Mycenae. In 
the island of Crete lived King Minos, who was very 
wise, and who was allowed to hold intercourse with the 
gods. One day, when the Cretans were on the sea- 
shore offering sacrifices to Poseidon, the king prayed 
that Poseidon would send him a bull out of the sea for 
sacrifice, for he wanted to show the Cretans what great 
regard the gods had for him. Immediately there came, 
borne to the shore upon the swelling waves, a most 
beautiful bull, and Minos was so fascinated by its 
beauty that he did not keep his word, but sacrificed 
another bull and put the one that came out of the sea 
among his flocks. Poseidon punished him by making 
the bull mad ; he killed the herdsmen and escaped into 
the forest, and did so much damage that the king re- 
pented of having broken his word. When Heracles 
came to him and said that he wanted to catch the bull, 
Minos gladly supplied him with ropes and spears, for 
he would not have minded paying a heavy price in order 
to get the plague removed from the country. Heracles 
went into the forest and soon found his wav to the bull, 



HERACLES. 123 

for he was guided to him by the bellowing he made. 
When he came near, he threw a spear at him in order 
to attract his attention. The bull ran at him furiously, 
lowering his horns to toss him into the air, but Heracles 
waited quietly till he came up, and then he seized his 
horns and held them fast, so that the bull could not raise 
his head again. They went on for some time pulling at 
each other, and the bull dragged Heracles about from 
place to place, bellowing horribly all the time. He was 
a huge powerful animal, but he could not get his horns 
free, and only tired himself to no purpose. At last he 
was quite exhausted, and Heracles made a halter out 
of the rope he had brought with him and wound it 
round his neck, and the bull followed him quite quietly. 
The Cretans ran together to look at the strong man 
leading the fierce bull," and were astonished to see the 
bull walking so quietly by his side. Heracles got into his 
ship and sailed back to Mycenae with the bull, and when 
he had led him through the city, he let him go free. 
You will hear more of him again by-and-by. 1 

The eighth Labour of Heracles was that of procuring 
the horses of Diomedes. Diomedes was a king of Thrace, 
a savage and cruel man, who cared for nothing in the 
world but his fierce horses which he fed upon human 
flesh ; and every stranger that came into his country 
was thrown to the horses. Now as Heracles knew that 
he would not be able to obtain the horses unless he 
first conquered the king and his people, he took with 
him a number of brave heroes who were glad to accom- 
pany him on this expedition. As soon as the ship 
landed in Thrace, the heroes went to the stables, killed 

1 For the rest of the story of the Cretan bull, see p. 181. 



124- MYTHS OF IILLLAS. 

the keeper, and brought away the horses ; one of them 
was going to bite, but Heracles gave him such a sound 
blow that he had something else to think of. They had 
almost reached the shore, when they looked back and 
saw King Diomedes coming after them followed by a 
number of soldiers, so they tied up the horses and 
turned round again. Then a fierce battle took place, 
for the Thracians were a warlike people, but at last 
they were all killed, and their king made prisoner. 
Heracles said that he should die by the same death that 
he had inflicted on others, and he loosed the horses of 
Diomedes and gave him to them to devour. The king 
cried out in an agony to his horses, ' Have I not been kind 
to you and taken care of you ? ' But they had become 
so fierce through eating human flesh that they did not 
spare even their own master. One tore off his arm, 
another bit him in the chest, and a third in the thigh, 
and they soon tore him to pieces, so that he perished 
miserably. Heracles then caught the horses again and 
took them home,, and when he had shown them to 
Eurystheus, he drove them to the foot of Mount 
Olympus where they were devoured by wild beasts. 

King Eurystheus had a daughter, who was con- 
tinually begging him to procure for her the girdle of 
the Queen of the Amazons. This beautiful girdle was 
world-famed ; it had been given to the queen by Ares, 
the god of war, and she wore it as a mark of royalty. 
Eurystheus knew that to secure the queen's girdle 
would be a task of great danger and difficulty, and 
therefore he told Heracles that this was to be his ninth 
Labour. So Heracles again set sail with his companions, 
and they journeyed for many days till they came to the 



HERACLES. 125 

country of the Amazons, who lived in Asia, near the 
river Thermodon. There were no men amongst them, 
but they were all women, and very remarkable women, 
too. They liked war better than anything else, and 
were so well skilled in riding and in shooting with the 
bow that no army was feared so much as the army of 
the Amazons. When Heracles reached their country, 
they happened to be in a meadow near the sea practising 
with their weapons of war, — all but the queen, who was 
sitting on the shore looking out over the sea, with her 
girdle glittering in the sunshine. When she saw the 
ship coming, she wondered who could be the strangers 
that ventured into her country, and most of all she 
marvelled at the sight of Heracles who was standing 
in the fore-part of the ship, dressed in his lion's skin 
and grasping his club. She asked him who he was and 
what he wanted, and he answered, 'I am Heracles, the son 
of Zeus, and I am performing hard labours in the service 
of Eurystheus ; he has sent me here to fetch your girdle 
and take it back to Mycenae.' When the queen heard 
that it was Heracles, whose deeds were spoken of all over 
the world, she said that she would make him a present 
of the girdle, and came towards the ship to greet him, 
holding out her hand. But Hera would not allow 
Heracles to carry off the girdle without a struggle, 
and she took the form of an Amazon, and going to the 
meadows where the others were, she called out to them, 
'A stranger is going to rob our queen.' They all rushed 
down to the shore and began to shoot at the strangers, 
killing many a brave man ; but when Heracles saw 
that they treated him and his followers as enemies, he 
thought that the queen had meant to act treacherously, 



126 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

and he slew her, and shot at the Amazons with his 
arrows, and killed so many of them that they were soon 
obliged to fly. He took the girdle from off the dead 
queen and laid her corpse on the shore, and after the 
ship had sailed away, the Amazons came and buried 
her. 

Some days after this, the heroes landed at the city 
of Troy, where they found all the people very sorrow- 
ful because an innocent maiden was to suffer death on 
account of the crime of her father Laomedon, the king 
of Troy. The gods Poseidon and Apollo, in order to 
try Laomedon, had entered into an engagement with 
him, by which they undertook to build a wall round the 
city that could never be destroyed. The wall was soon 
finished, but Laomedon, who was very miserly and who 
did not know that he had to deal with gods instead of 
men, refused to give the reward that had been agreed 
upon. Both the gods punished him for this. Apollo 
sent a pestilence into the land which destroyed both 
men and cattle, and Poseidon created a monster who 
came up every day out of the sea, and laid waste the 
fields devouring every living thing that he met with. 
Even after the pestilence had ceased, the monster still 
came every day, and took his fill of blood. The Trojans 
asked the Oracle how they could get rid of him, and the 
Oracle answered that the king's little daughter Hesione 
must be given him to eat. The Trojans were very fond 
of the beautiful little child, but as they were all in 
danger of perishing, they demanded of Laomedon that 
he should give up his daughter as a victim. The king 
shed many tears, but at last he consented, and when the 
heroes landed, Hesione had just been brought to the 



HEKACLES. 127 

shore, and chained to a rock at the spot where the 
monster was accustomed to leave the sea. Heracles 
heard from the Trojans how it had all happened, and 
he went to the king and said that if he would give him 
the two horses he had received from Zeus, he would 
slay the monster. These horses had been given to 
Laomedon by Zeus to make up for the loss of his son 
Ganymede, a most beautiful boy, whom Zeus had caused 
his sacred eagle to steal away and carry off to Mount 
Olympus, where Ganymede lived from that time with 
the gods, gifted with immortality and eternal youth. 
When Heracles demanded these horses as his reward 
for rescuing Hesione, Laomedon did not hesitate to 
promise them, though they were the most beautiful 
horses in all the world, for he felt willing to part with 
anything he possessed in order to save his daughter. 
Then Heracles placed himself by the side of Hesione 
with a naked sword in his hand, and when the horrible 
monster came out of the sea, opening his huge jaws to 
devour the maiden, Heracles jumped down his throat and 
wriggled himself down into his body, and then he cut 
away all his entrails, so that the monster rolled about 
on the ground in pain, howling horribly. When Heracles 
thought he was dead, he crept up again out of the body 
and washed himself clean in the sea. The king was 
very glad that his daughter was saved, but avarice 
again took possession of him and prevented him from 
keeping his promise to Heracles. He tried to deceive 
him with fair speeches, but Heracles understood per- 
fectly well that he was a faithless man, and he told him 
that he would return and punish him. 

Heracles sailed back to Mycenae, and gave the girdle 



128 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

of the Queen of the Amazons to Eurystheus. The 
king gave it to his daughter who was very much 
pleased with it, and at the same time he told Heracles 
that for his tenth Labour he was to fetch the cattle 
of Greryon. Wonderful stories had been brought by 
sailors of an island in the stream Oceanus. near the 
setting sun, where there lived a king named Greryon 
who possessed the strength of three men, for he had 
three bodies, six arms, and six legs. The sailors also 
told of the king's wonderful reddish-brown cattle which 
formed the chief part of his riches, and how no one 
dared to rob his flocks, because they were guarded day 
and night by a dog with two heads, who barked until 
he had roused a strong herdsman by whom the robber 
was killed without much loss of time. 

Heracles set out to look for the island, and went on 
and on towards the West till he came to countries where 
the people were quite savage and barbarous. By-and- 
by he reached the extreme end of Europe where 
Africa is only separated from it by a narrow channel, 
and as he wished to leave some token to show how far 
he had journeyed, he broke off two huge rocks and set 
them up in the sea, and ever since that time, the sailors 
who pass through these two mountains of rock look up at 
them and say, ' Those are the Pillars of Heracles.' At last 
he came to the end of the land, and as he stood on the 
shore wondering how he should manage to reach the 
island of Geryon, the sun, which is much hotter in those 
parts than it is here, smote upon his head. This 
annoyed him very much, and as he was in the habit of 
paying back anyone who did him an injury, he now 
took his bow and arrows and shot at the sun-god. But 



HEKACLtS. 129 

instead of being angry with him, Helios the sun-god 
admired him for his boldness in being so ready to 
fight even with gods, and he came down and gave him 
the golden shell in which he travels from West to East 
in the evening after sunset. It was an exceedingly 
large shell, and Heracles sailed over the sea in it till 
he came to the island of Geryon. The beautiful herd 
was in a meadow where the grass stood so high that 
it almost covered their bodies. When Heracles came 
to the herd, the great dog started up, barking out of 
his two heads, but Heracles quickly put an end to that, 
for he gave him such a blow with his club that his 
backbone was broken through. The herdsman had 
however already awoke, and he came running down, 
intending to kill the robber as he had killed many 
a one before, but this time he himself met with his 
death by a blow from the fist of Heracles, who then 
drove off the cattle towards the sea. But someone 
told King Geryon that Lis cattle were being stolen, 
and he ran after the robber in a great rage, throwing 
big stones at him and screaming with all his might . 
Heracles waited till he came up, and then they wrestled 
together. Geryon wound his six arms round him 
hoping to throw him, but they both fell at the same 
time, and Geryon was the undermost. Heracles set 
one knee on his body, but as he leaned over to reach a 
stone to kill him with, Geryon managed to spring up 
and tried to run away. Heracles, however, shot three 
arrows through his three hearts, and he fell down dead. 
Then Heracles went off with the herd, and when he 
had brought them safely to the mainland he returned 
the shell to the sun-god, thanking him heartily for his 

K 



130 MYTHS OF HifiLLAS. 

help. He had to take the cattle through many lands 
before they finally arrived in Greece, and on his way 
he came to the part of Italy where Eome was after- 
wards built. It happened to be the hot noontide, and 
Heracles lay down under the shade of a tree and let the 
herd graze. Now it chanced that in a cave under the 
Mount Aventinus there lived the giant Cacus, who was 
very hideous to look at, and who could cook his food in 
his own mouth, for fire and flames spouted out of it 
whenever he liked. Cacus was a great robber, and 
when he saw the beautiful cattle he set his mind on 
having some of them, but Heracles looked so strong 
that he did not dare to take them by force, so he waited 
till he was asleep, and then he came out of his cave 
and pulled .several of the cows backwards into it by 
their tails, so that the footprints in the sand looked 
like those of cows that had been driven out of the cave 
to pasture. When it became cooler, Heracles awoke 
and counted his cattle ; there were too few of them, but 
he could not find any traces of the direction in which 
they had gone, and was obliged to pass on without 
them. But just as they were going over Mount 
Aventinus one of the bulls chanced to bellow, and those 
in the cave of Cacus answered, because they wanted to 
go on with the others. Heracles immediately knew 
what had become of his cattle, and hastened down to 
the cave. The giant had shoved a huge fragment of 
rock in front of the entrance, but Heracles in his 
anger was even stronger than usual, and he threw 
down the rock with a noise that made the whole moun- 
tain tremble. Cacus was afraid of him, and sat cower- 
ing in a corner of the cave, spouting out smoke and 



HERACLES. 131 

flames to prevent him from coming near. But Heracles 
did not mind the flames, and he seized Cacus by the 
neck and strangled him ; then he dragged him out to 
the light, and wondered to see how ugly he was. The 
stolen cattle came out of the cave of their own accord 
and joined the others, and Heracles drove them on 
further. 

Some time after this, when he had nearly reached 
Mycenae and was travelling along the sea-shore, Hera 
sent a great gnat that flew about among the cattle 
humming and buzzing and stinging first one and then 
another, till they became quite unmanageable and ran 
away in different directions. Several jumped into the 
sea, and Heracles jumped in after them and brought 
back all that he could reach, pulling in some by their 
horns and driving others in front of him, but the greater 
number of them swam out into the. open sea and 
perished. Then he set to work to collect those that 
had escaped into the forest, and tired himself till night- 
fall with running after them, which gave Hera great 
pleasure. All that he could recover he brought to 
Mycenae, and Eurystheus sacrificed them to Hera. 

Heracles had now only two more Labours to accom- 
plish, and Eurystheus pondered night and day as to 
what would be the most difficult and dangerous task 
he could set him. At last he told him that for his 
eleventh Labour he was to fetch three apples from the 
Garden of the Hesperides, although no mortal knew 
where the Garden was. When Zeus and Hera were 
married, the Earth had caused an apple tree to spring 
up, which she gave them as her present, and on it there 
grew three apples of pure gold, Hera planted the tree 



132 MYTHS 01< HELLAS. 

on an island in Oceanus which had never been trodden 
by the foot of any mortal, and in course of time a 
whole garden grew from it, in which all the trees bore 
golden apples. The garden was tended by three nymphs 
called the Singing Hesperides, and it was guarded by a 
dragon. Heracles never allowed himself to be discour- 
aged, however hard his task might be, but always set 
about it in good spirits, confident of success, and he 
now went about asking everyone where the Hesperides 
lived. One day he came to a river, and some nymphs 
who were sitting on the bank asked him w T here he was 
going. He said, ' King Eurystheus has sent me to 
fetch him three apples from the Garden of the 
Hesperides, but I do not know where the Garden is.' 
One of the nymphs said, ' We do not know either, but 
Nereus, the old sea-god, can tell you, for he knows 
everything, both in earth and heaven.' Then they told 
Heracles where to find Nereus, and what to do in order 
to oblige him to answer his questions. Nereus lived in 
the sea, but about mid-day he came up on to the land 
and lay down in a grotto to sleep. When he was 
asleep, Heracles came and seized him by the arms, and 
Nereus, waking up, found himself a prisoner. He 
changed himself first into a wolf, and then into a lion, 
and lastly into a dragon, hoping that Heracles would 
be frightened and let go, but the nymphs had prepared 
him for these tricks, and instead of loosening his hold 
on the sea-god, he on the contrary held him, tighter 
and tighter, till at last Nereus had to give in, and ask 
him what he wanted. When he heard what it was, he 
gave Heracles an exact description of where the Hespe= 
rides lived, and how to get there; it was a very long 



HERACLES. J 66 

way off, even further than to the island of King Geryon, 
but Heracles would not be disheartened, and at once 
began his journey. 

On the way he came to Libya, where there reigned 
a king named Antaeus who would not allow any 
stranger to pass through his land without wrestling 
with him ; and hitherto he had overcome and killed them 
all, for he was a son of the Earth, and his mother gave 
him new strength every time he touched her. Heracles 
wrestled with Antaeus and threw him on to the ground 
three times, but each time the king sprang up again 
stronger than before. Then Heracles perceived that the 
Earth gave him strength, and he raised him up in the 
air so that he did not touch the earth at all, and 
squeezed him against his own body till he died. 

After this he continued his journey till he came to 
Egypt, where King Busiris lived,, who every year sacri-. 
need a stranger to the gods. Some time before this, 
the land had been unfruitful for nine years, so that 
many people died of hunger, and a soothsayer in a dis- 
tant island who heard of this and hoped to earn a good 
reward without much trouble, went to Egypt and told 
the king that he knew by his art that the only way in 
which he could be reconciled to the gods was by sacri- 
ficing a stranger to them every year. But instead 
of giving him the reward he looked for, the king 
offered him up as the first sacrifice, and after this he 
seized a stranger every year for the same purpose. 
When Heracles entered the country, the king's servants 
happened to be on the look-out for a stranger for the 
time of the yearly sacrifice had come round, and finding 
Heracles asleep by the wayside, they bound him with 



134 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

many strong cords and brought him before the king. 
Heracles acted as if he had no choice but to submit to this 
treatment, but when the priest came with the sacrificial 
knife in his hand to give him the death-blow, he burst 
asunder the cords, and snatching the knife from the 
priest, stabbed the king whom nobody interfered to 
save, for he was a cruel man and greatly dreaded by his 
subjects. After this, the Egyptians offered no more 
human sacrifices, and yet their land remained fruitful, 
for the soothsayer who had commanded the sacrifice 
was a false prophet. 

Heracles passed on through other lands till he came 
to the extreme end of the world where the giant Atlas 
lived, who had had an irksome task imposed upon 
him by the gods. He had to support the vault of 
heaven with his head and hands, and if he had 
neglected his duty even for a moment, the heaven 
would have fallen and crushed the earth to atoms. 
Heracles told Atlas of the errand on which he had been 
sent, and Atlas, who was only too glad to have an 
opportunity of resting his shoulders and stretching his 
legs, said that he would go and fetch the apples, if 
Heracles would meanwhile take his place in supporting 
the heaven. So Atlas went to the Garden, and the 
nymphs gave him the apples because he was their 
uncle, so that it was not long before he returned with 
them. But he found freedom so much more agreeable 
than the fulfilment of his task, that when he came back 
he said to Heracles, 'I have supported the heaven 
quite long enough, and now you must take your turn.' 
Heracles thought to himself, 4 If my wits fail me now, 
there will be do help for me.' so he pretended to agree, 



HERACLES. 135 

and said, 'Very well, but just let me first put my lion's 
skin over my head to keep the heaven from pressing so 
heavily upon it.' Then Atlas laid down the apples 
upon the ground and took up his burden again, think- 
ing it was just for a minute, but Heracles took up the 
golden apples and went away and left him, and Atlas has 
ever since been obliged to support the heaven because he 
let himself be duped in this way. Heracles returned 
to Mycenae and showed Eurystheus the golden apples, 
which glittered so brightly that when the sun shone 
one could hardly bear to look at them ; then he gave 
them to the goddess Athene, who took them back to 
the Garden of the Hesperides, for Hera would have been 
angry if she had kept them. 

Eurystheus decreed that the twelfth and last Labour 
of Heracles should be to fetch the hideous dog Cerberus 
from the Lower World. There was a chain of bare, 
rugged mountains, in the centre of which was a yawn- 
ing chasm stretching down far below the earth, and 
anyone who had the courage to go down it, came at 
last to the Lower World, where the shades of the dead 
go when they leave the earth. The gate of the Land of 
Shades was guarded by the great dog Cerberus, who 
stood there as watchman, and let everyone go in, but no 
one pass out again. His appearance was truly fright- 
ful, for he had three heads glistening all over with 
serpents which grew there instead of hair, and his tail 
was also an angry serpent with sharp teeth. As 
Heracles went down the chasm, he made up his mind 
that he would not try and steal the dog, but would tell 
Pluto that Eurystheus had commanded him to fetch him, 
and beg that he might be allowed to take him away. At 



136 IUYTHS OF HELLAS. 

last he reached the Land of Shades, where there is 
neither day nor night, but always grey twilight, and he 
saw many thousand shades flitting about like moths in 
the dusk. They slipped away as soon as he came near 
them, but their flight could not be heard but only seen, 
for their forms were without substance. They were 
also without any power of thinking, but Heracles knew 
that they could gain both speech and consciousness by 
drinking blood, and as the flock of Pluto was grazing 
near, he seized a cow with the intention of killing it ; 
but before he could do so, the herdsman ran after him 
in a rage and struck him. Heracles let go the cow, 
and seizing the herdsman, belaboured him with his fists 
until he screamed with all his might for help. Queen 
Persephone heard his cries, and coming out of her 
palace, she begged Heracles to leave off beating the 
herdsman, which he did for her sake. Then she asked 
him why he had come into the Lower World, and when 
he told her, she took him to her husband, King Pluto, 
who said he would allow him to take the dog to the 
Upper World on condition that he captured him without 
the help of any weapons. Heracles put on a shield 
that Pluto gave him and went back to the gate, where 
Cerberus greeted him with a growl, showing all his 
great teeth. However Heracles did not mind that, 
but grasping the part of his neck which belonged to 
the middle head, he pinched it tightly with his power- 
ful fingers. The serpents bit him in the arm and the 
leg, causing him great pain, but instead of letting go 
the head he only pinched it the harder, so that at last 
the dog was forced to give in, and he led him up the 
path without any further difficulty. When they came 



HERACLES. 137 

to the daylight however, Cerberus moaned, and would 
not have gone any farther if Heracles had not com- 
pelled him, being the stronger of the two, for the light 
of the sun struck him just between the eyes, and hurt 
him so much that foam dropped from his mouth ; and 
wherever a drop of it fell on the ground, there sprang 
up a plant called Nightshade, w T hich still grows, and is a 
deadly poison. When Heracles had taken the dog to 
Mycenae and shown him to Eurystheus, he brought 
him to the mouth of the chasm, and released him. 
Then Cerberus rushed back with great bounds into his 
beloved darkness, and Heracles heard him barking joy- 
fully, long after he was out of sight. 

5. The Murder of Iphitus, and the Vengeances of 
Heracles. . 

Heracles had now T served Eurystheus for twelve 
years, and had performed twelve great Labours for him, 
the hardest that have ever been accomplished by any 
man. During this time Megara had died, and Heracles 
now wished to take another wife. He heard that 
in Oechalia there was a beautiful maiden named Iole, 
the daughter of Eurytus, the king of the island of 
Euboea, but that Eurytus had proclaimed that no one 
should marry her who could not shoot with the bow 
better than himself and his sons. They were the best 
archers in the whole country, and although many 
suitors came to Oechalia, yet when they saw how well 
Eurytus could shoot, they all thought it was useless 
even to string their bows, and went away home again 
in despair. Heracles resolved that he also would go 



138 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

and sue for Iole, and he went out into the open field 
with Eurytus and his sons, in order to contend with 
them for the prize. All showed marvellous skill in 
shooting, but the arrow of Heracles pierced the breast 
of a wild dove so far off that the others could scarcely 
see it till it was brought down, and they were obliged 
to confess that he had beaten them. But Eurytus 
taunted him and said, i Would you have me give you 
my daughter for your wife ? When the gods send you 
children you throw them into the fire.' Heracles was 
enraged with Eurytus for mocking at his misfortune, 
and he went away vowing that he would one day be 
revenged upon him. 

Some time after this, a robber stole twelve of the 
finest cattle that Eurytus possessed, and he sent his 
son Iphitus to look for them. Iphitus went to several 
places in search of them, and finally came to Tiryns 
where Heracles was. When Heracles saw Iphitus he 
was reminded of the way in which his father had in- 
sulted him, and it made him so angry that he struck 
the boy dead, though afterwards when he became 
calmer he would gladly have recalled the deed. He 
went to Neleus, the king of Pylos, and begged him to 
purge him from the stain of blood, but Neleus, who 
was a friend of Eurytus, refused to do so, but on 
the contrary banished him from the country, blam- 
ing him for what he had done. Heracles found 
another wise man who consented to purify him, but 
the gods were notwithstanding this, still angry with 
him on account of the murder of Iphitus, and as a 
punishment, they visited him with a sore sickness, of 
which he could neither get well nor die, and which 



HERACLES. 139 

caused him terrible suffering. Heracles went to the 
Oracle at Delphi and asked the Pythia what he could 
do to have the sickness taken away from him, but 
Apollo, who inspired the Pythia as to what she should 
say, would not give any answer. Then Heracles got 
into a great rage, and he tore up from the ground the 
sacred Tripod on which the priestess sat, and carried it 
away on his back. Apollo saw the theft, and he came 
down from heaven and demanded the Tripod back 
again. No other would have dared to meet his 
angry look, but Heracles was not in the least afraid, 
and he refused to give it up. They were just going 
to fight about it, and had already taken their places 
for the struggle, when a thunderbolt fell upon the 
ground between them. They knew that this was a 
warning from their father Zeus, and they agreed to lay 
aside their ill-feeling and make peace ; Heracles gave 
back the Tripod, and Apollo pronounced the Oracle. 
It was that Heracles must serve as a slave for the space 
of three years and give the money for which he was sold 
to Eurytus, and that then his illness would be at an end. 
So Heracles allowed himself to be sold as a slave by 
Hermes, the messenger of the gods, and he was bought 
by the beautiful Omphale, queen of Lydia. Eurytus 
refused to take the money, but the gods decided that 
it was the same as if he had done so, and Heracles was 
freed from his sickness. Omphale made use of her 
strong slave for all kinds of service, both in freeing the 
land from wild beasts, and in punishing wicked robbers, 
so that the Lydians lived in peace and safety ; and 
Heracles loved the beautiful Omphale with all his heart, 
and was ready to do anything in the world in order to 



140 MYTHS OF HKLLAS. 

please her. She was very proud of being able to com- 
mand the mighty hero as if he were a little child, 
and in order to show the people how obedient he was 
to her, she made him sit among her maidens in women's 
clothes spinning at the distaff, whilst she dressed her- 
self up in the lion's skin, as if she were the man and he 
the woman, and Heracles allowed her to do just as she 
would with him because of the great love he bore her. 

When the three years were ended, Heracles left 
the palace of Omphale, and went through the cities of 
Greece asking if any heroes would set out with him for 
Troy, for he meant to carry out his threat of punishing 
King Laomedon for his faithlessness. So many heroes 
came that they rilled six large ships, and they sailed to 
Troy and besieged the city. They set up ladders with 
which to climb over the walls, and pressed on not- 
withstanding the stones and javelins that the Trojans 
threw down upon them, but they would never have 
succeeded in entering the city without the help of 
Heracles. When the city was taken, Heracles passed 
a sentence of death upon the king and his sons, and 
shot them all together, only sparing the youngest 
whose name was Podarces, because he was too young to 
have had any part in the treachery of his father. 
Heracles gave the beautiful Hesione to the hero 
Telamon who had been the first to scale the wall, 
and as she wept very much at leaving Troy, he told 
her that she might take one of the prisoners with her. 
She did not take long to consider wh'o it should be, bat 
immediately held out her hand to her little brother 
Podarces. Then Heracles said that she must buy him, 
so she took off her veil, which was the only one she had, 



HERACLKS 141 

and threw it down for the purchase-money ; and from 
that time her brother w-as called Priam, which means 
Bought. He came to Greece with his sister Hesione, 
but when he grew up to be a man he returned to Troy 
and became king of the country. 

When Augeas and the others who had wronged 
Heracles heard of the punishment that had overtaken 
Laomedon, they were afraid, and assembled all their 
warriors to protect them, for Heracles had announced 
his intention of marching against them as soon as he 
returned to Greece. But Hera, who still hated him, 
tried to destroy him on his way home. She commanded 
the god of Slumber to send Zeus into a deep sleep, 
and while he lay unconscious, she raised a tremendous 
storm on the sea through w T hich Heracles was sailing. 
All his companions w T ere very much frightened, but 
Heracles w T as not in the least disturbed, and before the 
waves could make a wreck of the ship, Zeus awoke, 
and seeing his son in danger, calmed the sea so that it 
became quite smooth and the fishes came up again 
from the bottom to play. Zeus knew that it was Hera 
who had raised the storm, and he punished her for it. 
He tied her hands together with a golden chain, and 
attached a heavy weight to each of her feet, and then 
he suspended her in the clouds, where she was obliged 
to hang all day long in great pain, with the winds and 
storms for her only companions. 

Heracles was none the worse for the storm, and as 
soon as he had landed in Greece with the other heroes, 
he led them against Elis, the city of King Augeas, and 
conquered it. Augeas would now have gladly parted 
with his whole herd if that would have saved his life, 



142 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

but Heracles killed him and all his sons except Phyleus, 
the one who had refused to bear false witness against 
him and had been banished by his father in con- 
sequence. He gave the country into the hands of 
Phyleus, and then he led his followers from Elis to 
Pylos, where he punished King Neleus for having re- 
fused to purge him from the stain of blood. Of the 
whole race of the king, the only one who remained 
alive after the visit of Heracles was a little boy named 
Nestor, whom his father Neleus had sent to be brought 
up in a neighbouring country, and who grew up to be a 
brave and wise hero. 

6. The Marriage of Heracles 'with Deianira, and 
his Death. 

There was still one man left whom Heracles desired 
to punish, and this was Eurytus. But he deferred his 
revenge for a time, in order to undertake a pleasauter 
expedition to the court of King Oeneus, of Calydon, 
wmose beautiful daughter Deianira he wished to marry. 
Deianira was a maiden who delighted in driving horses 
that had never been broken in, and who knew how to use 
the lance and the bow. She had another distinguished 
lover, the river-god Achelous, and as neither he nor 
Heracles would give way to the other, they determined 
to fight it out, and agreed that whichever conquered 
sfiould have the bride. Achelous came out of his stream 
in the form of a bull, and Heracles had a hard struggle 
with him, for his opponent had the strength of a bull, 
and at the same time the wisdom of a god. Achelous 
ran at him intending to gore him with his horns, and 
if Heracles had not been on his guard, he would have 



HEEACLES. 143 

been pierced through. For a long time the struggle 
lasted, each trying to overpower the other by strength 
or by craft, and when the river-god laid his fore-feet 
upon the shoulders of Heracles who was clothed in his 
lion's skin, and pressed his strong chest against him in 
the hope of throwing him, it looked as if a lion and a 
bull had embraced each other. But at last Heracles 
laid hold of one of the horns of Acheloiis and tore at it 
with all his might till he succeeded in breaking it off, 
and then the bull bellowed horribly, and ran back, 
bleeding, into the river.' 

So Heracles remained the victor, and Oeneus gave 
him Deianira to be his wife, and she was glad tw have 
such a noble hero for her husband. Heracles wanted 
to keep the horn as a trophy, but Acheloiis gave him 
instead of it the wonderful horn of the goat Amalthea 
who had been the nurse of Zeus. 1 This horn had been 
blessed by Zeus, and anyone who held it in his hand 
might wish for anything he liked to eat or drink, and 
immediately it was there. For this reason it was called 
the Horn of Plenty, because it produced all kinds of 
food in abundance. 

Heracles lived many years in Calydon with Deianira, 
not spending his time slothfully, but fighting against 
all the robbers and wicked men in the neighbourhood. 
But one day it happened that the boy who held the wash - 
ing-basin and poured water over his hands before meals, 
Avas careless and showered the water all over him. 
Heracles gave him what he intended to be a little 
box on the ears, but a blow from him came with such 
violence that the boy immediately fell down dead. 
1 See page ?>. 



144 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

Heracles was very much grieved, and he determined 
to leave the city of Calydqn, and set out with Deianira 
for Traohis where an old friend of his lived. On the 
way they came to a broad river over which there was no 
bridge, but the Centaur Nessus used to carry travellers 
across on his horse's back for a trifling payment. 
Heracles entrusted Deianira to him, and said that he 
himself would follow without help. The Centaur, how- 
ever, was so greatly charmed with the beauty of Deianira, 
that as he swam with her across the stream he made 
up his mind that he would carry her off. So when he 
had reached the other side, instead of letting her jump 
off his back, he held her fast and ran away with her. 
Deianira stretched out her arms to Heracles who was 
still on the other side, and screamed for help. Then 
Heracles took his bow and shot a poisoned arrow into 
the shoulder of the Centaur, and he fell down and was 
obliged to let go his hold of Deianira. Nessus felt 
that the poison would soon kill him, and he longed to 
revenge himself on Heracles by doing him some injury. 
So he said to Deianira, 4 Take a cloth and dip it in my 
blood, and do not let Heracles see it ; but if ever you 
are afraid that he loves another woman better than you, 
sprinkle the blood over his clothing, and he will be un- 
able to leave you. You must take care, however, not 
to touch it yourself.' The blood had been poisoned by 
the arrow of Heracles, and anyone whose skin was even 
touched by it must die, but Deianira did not know 
this ; she thought the Centaur was speaking in good 
faith and determined to follow his advice, for she loved 
Heracles with all her heart, and desired above all things 
that he should always love her as much in return. 



HERACLES. 145 

Nessus died soon after he had. spoken to Deianira, 
and Heracles continued his journey with her. When 
they came to Trachis which is not far from Euboea, 
he remembered the vengeance that he had purposed 
to execute upon Eurytus, and assembling all his com- 
panions, he set sail for his island Eurytus armed his 
sons and all his men of war, and met him outside the 
walls of Oechalia. Then a battle was fought in which 
many wounds were given and received, and Heracles 
slew Eurytus and his sons, which, when the others saw, 
they gave up all hope and betook themselves to flight. 
Heracles entered the city with his companions and 
gave them leave to take any plunder they chose, for all 
the people surrendered themselves and their possessions 
to him, only asking that their lives might be spared. 

Heracles now desired to otfer a solemn sacrifice to 
Zeus as a token of his gratitude for the victory, and he 
sent the herald Lichas to procure from Deianira a 
festal robe suitable for the occasion. Deianira wa& 
greatly afraid that Heracles might forsake her for the 
beautiful Iole whom he had formerly wished to marry, 
and remembering what the Centaur had told her to do 
if ever she had any special reason for desiring that 
Heracles should be true to her, she took the cloth 
which had been soaked in his blood, and smeared all 
the inner side of the robe with it. Lichas took the 
robe to Heracles, and he put it on. But when the 
blood had become warmed by the heat of his body, it 
burst out into flames and burnt Heracles so terribly 
that in his agony he seized Lichas by the feet and 
flung him three times against the rocks, till his face 
was so battered that none of the features could be dis- 



146 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

tinguished. Then he tried to tear off the dress, but it 
clung so closely to his skin that pieces of his flesh came 
off with it. He suffered unspeakable tortures, which 
made him cry out with the pain and roll on the ground 
in agony, and then he moaned so piteously that the 
very stones might have felt for him, but no one dared 
to go near him. For a short time the . pain made him 
quite mad; then he controlled himself with, a mighty 
effort and resolved what he would do. He got into a 
ship that was going to Greece, and when he arrived 
there he ascended Mount Oeta, accompanied by some 
of his friends; the poison still caused him terrible suf- 
fering, but he was able to bear it in silence now. On 
the top of Mount Oeta he built a huge funeral pile and 
mounted to the top of it ; then he asked his friends to 
set fire to it, but none of them would do so, — they only 
stood round weeping. Presently however a herdsman 
came along the road, and Heracles called out to him, 
and said that he would give him his bow and arrows if 
he would set fire to the funeral pile. The herdsman 
consented to do so for the sake of the beautiful bow, 
and he brought a burning torch with which he set the 
wood alight. The wind fanned the flames and they 
mounted higher and higher, but before they reached 
Heracles himself, a sound of thunder and lightning was 
heard, and a cloud came down which covered the 
funeral pile and in which he was carried up to the top 
of Mount Olympus. The gods gifted him with im- 
mortality as a recompense for his noble deeds, and 
they said that he should henceforth be as one of them- 
selves. Even Hera did not grudge him this reward, 
for her hatred had at last been conquered by his grand 



HERACLES. 147 

and godlike Labours, and when Heracles appeared 
among the Immortals in the form of a god, she led 
her daughter, the goddess Hebe, towards him, and said 
that he should have her for his wife. Poor Deianira 
was already in the Lower World, for when she heard of 
the evil that had been wrought by the robe, she went 
into her bed-chamber and hanged herself. 

Heracles was honoured on the earth as a god, and 
men built temples to him, and kept his great deeds in 
constant remembrance. 



e2 



148 MYTHS 01^ HELLAS. 



XXVII. 

THE QUEST OF THE ARGONAUTS. 

1. The Golden Fleece. 
There was once a king in the land of Greece called 
Athamas, and he had a wife and two children, whose 
names were Phrixus and Helle. But the king loved 
another woman better than his wife, and he thrust 
away his wife and made the other woman queen. The 
children had now a step-mother, who at first was very 
kind to them, but afterwards when she had children of 
her own it was a different thing, and Phrixus and Helle 
had a bad time of it. Their own mother remained in 
the city living on a dole that she received from the king, 
but she was not allowed to enter the palace ; sometimes, 
however, she used to come secretly after dark, and then 
she kissed the children and gave them little presents, 
which made them very happy. The step-mother was 
always trying to rind some means of getting rid of the 
children, and at last she thought of a plan which she 
hoped would be successful. When the time for sowing 
the corn came round, she ordered all the women in the 
country to roast the seed secretly, so that though the 
corn was sown as usual it did .not spring up, for the 
seeds were dead because they had been cooked. Then 
there was great distress all over the country, and the 



THE QUEST OF THE ARGONAUTS. 149 

king sent messengers to Delphi to ask the Oracle how 
the land could be made fruitful again. But the wicked 
queen took the messengers aside and bribed them by 
the promise of a great reward to deceive the king. 
They did not go to Delphi at all, but hid themselves 
outside the city until there would have been time to go' 
and come back again, and then they sprinkled their 
clothes with dust as if they had taken a long journey, 
and went to the king and took him the message that 
the queen had put into their mouths,— which was that 
he must sacrifice his son Phrixus to the gods, or else 
the fields would never be fruitful again. The king was 
very unwilling to do this, but the people pressed him 
until he consented to the sacrifice, for they were afraid 
they would all die of hunger. 

The true mother was very sad, and she wept all day 
and all night because her son was going to be killed. 
And the gods had pity on her, and sent Hermes, the 
messenger, to take her a ram covered all over with 
golden wool that shone like the beautiful sun, and tell 
her that the ram should carry away her children to a 
place of safety. Then the mother was comforted, and 
after dark she fetched the children from the palace by 
stealth and placed them both on the ram's back. 
Phrixus sat in front and held on fast by the horns, and 
He lie was behind with her arms round her brother. 
When they had taken leave of their mother, the Golden 
Earn set out on his journey ; first he flew up as high as 
the clouds, and then he trotted along the path of the 
birds, mid-w r ay between heaven and earth, and it 
seemed to the children, as they looked down, as if the 
houses and trees were all running away from them. 



15,0 MYTHS OF HKLLAS. 

They journeyed on all night in the "bright star-light, and 
when the sun rose they were already far from home, 
and found themselves above the sea which lies between 
Europe and Asia. Helle wanted to take a last look at 
the beautiful land of Greece and turned round that she 
might see it better, but in her eagerness she let go of her 
brother and fell far down into the sea, and even before 
she touched the water she was dead from the effect of 
the great fall. Phrixus was very, very sorry, and he 
shed so many tears that the fishermen below thought it 
was beginning to rain. Ever since that time the 
Greeks have called that sea the Hellespont, which 
means the sea of Helle. 

The Golden Earn flew on and on till he had passed 
over the Black Sea and reached the city of Colchis, 
which was a very long way from the kingdom of Atha- 
mas. Phrixus sacrificed the ram to the gods, and he 
presented its golden fleece to Aeetes the king of the 
country, who hung it on a tree in a forest near the city 
and placed beside it a powerful dragon that never went 
to sleep. Phrixus was kindly treated by the king ; he 
lived in his palace and sat at his table, and when he 
grew up, Aeetes gave him his daughter for a wife. 

After this, -a great misfortune befell King Athamas 
and the wicked step-mother. He had incurred the 
anger of Hera, 1 and she afflicted him with madness. 
One day as he was returning from hunting, he saw his 
two young children playing in front 'of the palace, but 
they seemed to him to be two young deer, and he took 
his bow and shot the eldest boy right through the 
heart. He was just going to shoot the other child, but 
1 See page 63. 



• THE QUEST OF THE AEGO.NAU'IS. 1^1 

the mother, who was close by, saw that the king was 
mad, and she took it up in her arms and ran away as 
fast as she could. Athamas pursued her with his arrow 
on the string, until the queen finding that she could 
not escape, threw herself into the sea with her child, 
and they were both drowned. Athamas was overcome 
with grief when his reason returned to him, and he left 
the kingdom and went to the Oracle to ask what he 
should do. The answer he received was that he was 
to settle in a land where he would be the guest of wild 
beasts. Athamas did not know how this could be, but 
after wandering about for a long time he came to an 
almost uninhabited country, where he one day saw two 
or three wolves devouring a sheep which they had 
killed. When Athamas came near them they ran 
away, and as he had eaten nothing for several days 
and was almost starving, he cut off a piece of the raw 
sheep and* eat it hastily, and then it occurred to him 
that he had eaten the w T olves' dinner, and was therefore 
their guest, So he wandered no longer, but settled 
down in that place, and when others came to live in 
the same neighbourhood, Athamas became their king, 
and ruled over them until his death some years later. 

2. The Journey to Colchis. 

Some time had passed away and Phrixus was 
already dead, when it happened that the king of Iolcns, 
in Greece, whose name was Pelias, sent one day to the 
Oracle at Delphi to ask what w^ould befall him in the 
future, and the Oracle in reply told him to beware of 
the One-sandalled man : the Greeks did not wear shoes 



152 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

like ours, but sandals, which were soles of leather, tied 
on to the feet with straps. Many years passed by, 
and the king never saw a man with only one sandal 
on, and had almost forgotten the warning of the 
Oracle. But one day when he was going to offer a 
great sacrifice to Poseidon, he invited all his friends to 
the banquet, and amongst others, Jason his brother's 
son, who lived at some little distance from the city. 
On his way to Iolcus, Jason had to pass through a 
brook which had become swollen by heavy rain, and 
one of his sandals got loose in the water and remained 
sticking in the marshy soil. He could not get it again 
because the water was too deep, and was obliged to 
walk half bare-foot into the city. As soon as Pelias 
saw him, he was put in mind of the Oracle, and he said 
to him, 6 What should you do to get rid of a man if you 
had been told that he was likely to kill you.' Jason 
laughed and answered, ' I should send him to fetch 
the Grolden Fleece.' For it was a dangerous journey 
to Colchis, and the powerful King Aeetes would have 
parted with one of his eyes rather than with the Golden 
Fleece, so there was every chance that anyone who 
ventured on such an undertaking as that, would perish. 
Then Pelias said, 4 The Oracle has warned me to beware 
of you ; choose your companions and set out in search 
of it/ 

Jason was a brave and fearless hero, and was quite 
ready for the expedition. He sent messengers to 
summon all the noblest heroes to come with him, and 
fifty were found willing to undertake the journey, be- 
sides the strong Heracles, who also said that he would go 
with them. There was a man in Iolcus, named Argus, 



THE QUEST OF THE ARGONAUTS. 153 

who was skilled in shipbuilding, and he fashioned for 
them a great vessel with places for fifty rowers. The 
goddess Athene sent a beam for it, made of sacred oak, 
which could speak, and it was inserted in the front part 
of the ship. She was a noble vessel, and all who saw 
her were filled with wonder and. delight. They called 
her the Argo, after the name of the builder, and the 
heroes who sailed in her w T ere called Argonauts. When 
she was ready they pushed her out to sea, and each man 
took his oar in his hand. Besides the rowers there was 
a hero who sat at the helm, and Jason the leader, who 
had no special place assigned to him in the ship. 
Many people came down to the shore to watch them 
sail away, and wish them a prosperous journey. The 
ship went as fast as a bird can fly, the helmsman steered, 
the rowers rowed, and the Sacred Beam warned the 
heroes of the rocks below the water, so that they might 
steer the ship clear of them. 

After sailing for some days, they came to the 
beautiful island of Lemnos, and as they were tired of 
rowing and wanted to rest, they went on shore. There 
was not a single man in the island, only women. Some 
time before this, the men had purposed to thrust away 
their wives and take others, and so the women had 
killed them all, not even excepting the old men and 
boys, and they determined to be a nation of women 
only, like the Amazons. The only man left alive in the 
whole island was the father of the Queen, Hypsipele, 
whom she loved very dearly and resolved to save at any 
cost. There was a secret room in the palace in which 
she hid him, and every day she took him food by 
stealth, for if the other women had discovered what 



154 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

she had done they would perhaps have killed her. 1 The 
Argonauts were very much astonished at seeing women 
do all the things that are usually undertaken by men, 
such as ploughing fields, felling trees in the wood, and 
practising with weapons of war. The heroes asked where 
the men were, and they told them why they had killed 
them. They did not however refuse to receive the 
strange heroes, but entertained them hospitably, and 
the Argonauts enjoyed themselves very much on the 
island. Many of them found it much more agreeable 
than sitting at their oars in the ship, but after some 
time had passed, Jason called them together, and they 
went back to the Argo and continued their journey. 
They did not stop again till they had reached the 
country of the Doliones, and then they knew that they 
had left Europe behind them. 

The Doliones always kept watchmen near the sea to 
give notice of any ships that were coming, for there 
were a great many pirates cruising about that sea who 
fell upon honest folk and robbed them, and the Doliones 
had lately suffered much at their hands. When the 
Argo came near their land, a number of the Doliones 
assembled on the shore and asked the heroes what they 
wanted. Jason said, ' We are going to Colchis to fetch 
the Golden Fleece, and we should like to rest here.' 
On hearing this the Doliones received them kindly, and 
their king came down to the shore and sent for several 
cattle and great skins of wine to be brought. Fires 
were lighted, the cattle were killed and roasted, and the 
Doliones feasted till the evening with the heroes, who 
then sailed away. But a great storm came on, and it 
was so dark that they could not even see I ho mast of 
' For what 3 tier ward.-, happened to \ly\ si] eh , see pages 215 17 _ 



THE QUEST OF THE ARGONAUTS. 155 

the ship. They were unable to make head against the 
high waves, so they pulled in the oars and let the ship 
dance to the whistling of the wind, but in this way 
they lost their reckoning, and no longer knew either 
the direction from which they had come, or that in 
which they desired to go. At last the storm subsided, 
and they made for some land which they could just 
distinguish not far from where they were, but when 
they tried to land, the inhabitants came with weapons 
to drive them away, for they thought they were pirates. 
The Argonauts killed many enemies, but when the day 
dawned they discovered that they were the Doliones, — 
neither party had recognised the other in the darkness. 
Then there was great weeping for the dead, especially 
for the king who had entertained the heroes so royally 
the day before, and had been slain by them in the 
night. The Argonauts remained three days longer in 
that country and celebrated magnificent games in 
honour of the king, — running races, wrestling with one 
another, and measuring their skill in shooting with the 
bow and in throwing the lance, — and whoever did the 
best obtained the prize. 

Then for the second time they sailed away from 
the land of the Doliones. They were now not far from 
the Black Sea, and were coasting along by the country 
of Mysia, when it happened that some of the oars 
broke, and they had to stop and go into a forest to get 
some new ones. Heracles went far into the forest to 
look for the best trees, taking with him a boy named 
Hylas who served him and whom he loved as his own 
son. Heracles was thirsty after his work, and he told 
the boy to go to the nearest stream and draw him some 



1.56 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

water in a pitcher. Hylas found a clear transparent 
pool fringed with lovely flowers, and stooped down to 
draw the water, but the nymphs to whom it belonged 
saw him and were so struck by his great beauty, for he 
was the most beautiful boy in all Greece, that they 
came up from the bottom to draw him down into the 
pool ; and they seized him, one by the hand and another 
by the foot, and said, ' Come down to our house, 
beautiful boy, and we will play with you. 5 Hylas did 
not want to go, and he screamed and struggled with all 
his might, but the nymphs were stronger than he, and 
dragged him dowm. When Heracles heard his cry, he 
thought the boy must have been carried off by robbers, 
so he took his oar and ran down to the brook, and not 
finding him there, he rushed frantically through the 
forest in search of him, saying that he would not go 
back to the ship without Hylas. Meanwhile evening 
had come on, the other heroes had all returned to the 
ship, and they sailed away, unmindful of Heracles. 
The next morning they saw indeed that he was not 
there, but they could not sail all the way back again, 
and they trusted that they would be able to bring 
home the Golden Fleece without him. So Heracles 
returned to Greece, where he accomplished his twelve 
great Lahours. 

. Some days afterwards the heroes landed again, and 
this time it was in a country where the king compelled 
every stranger who came into his dominions to measure 
his strength with him in boxing,, and he was so 
practised a boxer that he had overcome and killed ail 
who had contended with him. When he heard that a 
ship with many heroes in it had come to his land, he said 



THE QUEST OF THE ARGONAUTS. 1,37 

that if there was any brave man among them, he was 
prepared to fight with him. Now there were two 
heroes on board the Argo named Castor and Pollux, 
who were twin brothers. Castor was skilled in managing 
untamed horses, and Pollux excelled in boxing. Pollux 
resolved to punish the haughty king, so he accepted his 
offer of boxing with him and very soon dealt him a 
fatal blow. A great many of his followers had come to 
watch the fight, expecting to see their king fell the 
stranger to the ground, and when they saw that he was 
dead, they tried to kill Pollux in order to avenge him ; 
but the Argonauts seized their weapons, and soon a 
number of their enemies were dead and the rest had 
taken to flight.- 

V Farther on, the Argonauts came to a country where 
there lived a seer named Phineus, who would gladly 
however have parted with his power of reading the 
future if that would have delivered him from his 
misery. He had once revealed the future contrary to 
the will of the gods, and as a punishment they made 
him blind, and prevented him from having anything to 
eat. Whenever a meal was spread before him, there 
came from heaven two monstrous beings with faces and 
bodies like maidens, but whose feet and wings were 
those of ravens. They were called Harpies, and their 
names were Storm-foot and Swift-wing. They snatched 
away the best part of the food and gobbled it up, and 
what they left smelt so badly that Phineus could not 
eat it for loathing. The Old man was wasted away with 
hunger, and there was nothing left of him but skin and 
bones. The Argonauts begged him to give them good 
advice about their journey, and he promised to do so if 



153 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

they would rid him of the Harpies. It happened that 
among them were two sons of Boreas, the god of the 
north wind; they had wings on their shoulders and could 
fly like birds, but it had been decreed by fate that if ever 
they failed to catch, what they set out in pursuit of, they 
must die immediately. They were quite willing to 
attack the Harpies, and next time they came to snatch 
away the food from Phineus, the heroes drew their 
swords, spread their wings, and set out in chase of them. 
The Harpies flew backwards and forwards in all directions 
over both sea and land, but at last Storm-foot was 
obliged to give in, and her pursuer was jast going to 
seize her when her wings failed altogether, and she 
fell down into a river below, where she was drowned. 
Swift-wing was still able to flutter a little, but presently 
she also gave in, and fell among some soft grass. Her 
pursuer came after her and pierced her through with 
his sword, and then the heroes returned, the sword of 
one of them being still wet with the blood of Swift-wing. 
From that time Phineus could eat his meals in peace 
which was a great comfort to him. He told the Argo- 
nauts that they would soon come to two wonderful rocks, 
and instructed them what to do when they reached 
them, and he said that if they passed these in safety 
they would arrive at Colchis without further danger. 

After rowing for half a day, the heroes came to the 
rocks of which Phineus had told them, and never in 
their lives had they seen anything so wonderful. They 
were two huge rocks, not fastened to the bottom of the 
sea, but sailing about separately, and every now and 
thfeii they clashed together and great waves broke over 
them, and there was a noise as if the rocks were going 



THE QUEST OF THE ARGONAUTS. 159 

1 o break in pieces, but as they were made of the hardest 
stone, they remained quite sound. They darted about 
so quickly, and clashed against each other so constantly, 
that no ship had ever been able to pass them ;* every 
vessel that had attempted it had been crushed to atoms, 
with every soul on board. But the Argo was very swift, 
being rowed by fifty heroes, and Phineus had told them 
to send out a dove in front of them, and that if the 
dove passed through the rocks safely, they also might 
venture; but if it were crushed, they would have to 
turn back, for the speed of the Argo was just equal to 
that of a dove. So when the rocks separated from one 
another, 'they sent out the dove, and it arrived happily 
at the other side, with only a few of its tail-feathers 
torn out. JNoxt time the rocks opened a pathway, they 
also steered through them, rowing with all their might. 
The ship shot through like an arrow, and just the same 
thing happened to the Argo as to the dove, for the de- 
coration of the hinder-part of the vessel was torn off, 
just as the bird's feathers had been. And when the 
heroes looked back, they saw the rocks standing still : 
they had played their game for the last time, for it had 
been decreed by fate that if ever they allowed a ship to 
pass them, they would become rooted to the ground. 
So that ever since that time, ships have been able to 
sail past these rocks, as fast or as slowly as they please. 

3. The Fight for the Golden Fleece 

Some days after this, the heroes reached Colchis. 
Many people came together to look at them, for never 
before had a ship reached their country from Greece, 



H>0 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

and besides this, the Argo was a noble vessel, unlike 
anything the Coichians had ever seen, and she had a 
number of brave heroes on board. The Argonauts had 
fastened ropes to the ship with great stones at the end, 
and these they threw into the sea to serve as anchors. 
Then Jason said that some one must take him to the 
king, and a number of people accompanied him as far as 
the palace. Jason was a noble-looking man, and for a 
mantle he wore the skin of a spotted panther that he 
had killed himself. When he saw king Aeetes, he said 
that he had come from the home of Phrixus, and that 
King Pelias had sent him to fetch the Golden Fleece. 
Now Aeetes prized the Golden Fleece more than all his 
other treasures, and had no intention of parting with it ; 
but as he was a crafty man, he said that he would give 
it to Jason if he would be willing to give a proof of his 
real desire for it, by ploughing a piece of land with two 
wild bulls and sowing it with dragon's teeth. The 
king thought that if Jason ventured to undertake this 
he would certainly perish, for the bulls had brazen feet, 
and out of their mouths issued a stream of fire which 
burnt up everything that came near them; besides this, 
he knew that when the dragon's teeth were sown, armed 
men would rise up from them and kill Jason, so that 
even if he succeeded in managing the wild bulls, it 
would not be of much avail. Bat Aeetes did not tell 
Jason all this ; and though Jason felt sure that the task 
which the king assigned to him would be no easy one, 
lie accepted it without hesitation and agreed to meet 
him the next day in a field near the city in order to 
accomplish it. When Jason went back to the ship, the 
heroes asked him what the king had said, and he told 



Til R QUEST Ol 1 THE ARGONAUTS. 161 

th^m. Then as night was coming on, they lay down 
on the shore, wrapped themselves up in their cloaks, and 
went to sleep. 

King Aeetes had a daughter called Medea who was 
a powerful enchantress, and knew the properties of all 
kinds of herbs and how to make use of them for good 
or evil. She used to go to the mountains at night 
when the moon was shining to pluck herbs, and pre- 
pared all manner of magic drinks from them ; she also 
understood other kinds of witchcraft. When she saw 
Jason standing in her father's palace, she thought he 
looked like a true hero, and she felt a great love for 
him and longed to help him. So in the night she left 
the palace and came to the shore where the heroes were 
asleep. She at once recognised Jason and awoke him, 
and he rubbed his eyes in astonishment at seeing the 
maiden standing beside him in the moonlight, tall and 
beautiful, with her long white veil thrown back. She 
said to him, 'My father, the king, intends to kill you, but 
if you will swear to be my friend, 1 will help you.' She 
told him all about the bulls and the dragon's teeth, and 
said that it would not be possible for him to overcome them 
without her help. The beautiful princess pleased Jason 
well, and he promised that if he obtained the Grolden 
Fleece through her assistance, he would take her home 
with him to be his wife. Then Medea gave him a box 
containing ointment which protected any one who used 
it from being burnt by fire or wounded by steel for the 
space of one whole day. She told him to anoint his 
shield his spear and his body with it the next morning, 
and then the bulls and the armed men would not be 
able to do him any harm ; she also taught him a trick 

M 



102 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

which she said he would find useful as a means of 
defence against the armed men. When they had 
talked for some time longer, Medea wrapped her veil 
round her and went home ; the people in the palace 
were not surprised, for they thought she had been 
wandering about on the mountain as usual, collecting 
herbs. 

At day-break the king betook himself to the field 
with ail his courtiers and many other people, and 
Medea went also, attended by her women. Near the 
field was a sacred forest in which the two bulls were 
feeding; and in this same forest hung the Golden Fleece, 
from which bright rays of light might be seen stream- 
ing as the trees were swayed backwards and forwards 
by the wind. The plough was standing ready in the 
field, and one of the king's servants held in his hand a 
helmet which contained the dragon's teeth. Soon 
afterwards Jason arrived with the Argonauts looking 
in such good spirits that the king and his followers 
were astonished, for they did not know about the oint- 
ment that had made him proof against fire and steel, 
— the Argonauts knew about it, however, for Jason had 
told them. The king commanded Jason to fetch the 
bulls, and he went into the forest and soon found them. 
They came towards him bellowing loudly, with the 
bright fire streaming from their mouths and nostrils, 
meaning to kick him to death with their hoofs. But 
their fiery breath had no effect on Jason, and their 
brazen hoofs could not do him any harm. He'seized 
them by the horns and dragged them along, and he 
was so strong that although they struggled with all 
their might and tried to pull first to the right and 



THE QUEST OF THE ARGONAUTS. 163 

then to the left, they were obliged to follow him. It 
was a strange sight to see him coming out of the forest 
with the fire streaming over his face and body, and the 
bulls kicking him with their brazen hoofs, yet notwith- 
standing this, whole and unscathed. He dragged the 
bulls to the plough and laid the yoke upon their necks, 
then he drove them through the field making furrows 
as he went along, and when they were stubborn and 
refused to go on, he pricked them with a goad that he 
had in his hand. He went up and down three times, 
until the king said it was enough, and then he un- 
harnessed the bulls and let them go back into the 
forest. The king was very much astonished at his 
having performed the first part of his task so success- 
fully, but when he gave him the helmet with the 
dragon's teeth in it, he felt sure that the armed men 
would at all events make an end of him. Jason walked 
up and down the furrows, and every here and there he 
threw in a tooth and stamped down a clod over it with 
his foot. When he had finished he looked round, — the 
armed men were already rising out of the ground, and 
in a little while the whole fifty had sprung up ; they 
were completely covered with brazen armour, and had 
very angry faces. Then Jason remembered the trick 
that Medea had taught him, and he took up stones 
from the ground and threw them among the band of 
warriors without letting the king see what he was doing. 
Every time one of the armed men felt a stone strike 
him, he began to fight with his neighbour because he 
thought it was he who had thrown it. So in a short 
time there was a fierce battle raging amongst the 
armed men, and Jason found his task an easy one: he 

M 2 



164 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

took his shield and spear, and killed the warriors in the 
confusion, till at last they all lay dead on the ground, 
and the earth was quite red with their blood. 

All the people were full of admiration of the brave 
hero, and when Jason took off his helmet and wiped his 
forehead, they thronged round him, praising his great 
achievement. But the king was angry, and went away 
with his courtiers without speaking a word to Jason. 
He was still determined not to part with the Golden 
Fleece, and made up his mind to kill the hero who had 
come to ask for it. When he reached the palace, he 
chose out the strongest of his soldiers and told them 
that he would himself lead them to the shore early the 
next morning while the Argonauts were still asleep, 
and that they would kill the heroes and burn the ship. 
Aeetes expected to take the Argonauts by surprise, but 
Medea went again that evening to Jason and told him 
what her father intended. She also said that she 
would get the Grolden Fleece for him, and that they must 
flee away that night. So they went together into the 
forest in which the Fleece hung ; — high up among the 
branches shone the golden light, and at the foot of the 
tree was the dragon that never slept. Jason waited at 
a little distance while Medea went alone to the dragon, 
for she was accustomed to take him his food every day, 
and he knew her and allowed her to stroke him. 
Medea spoke kindly to the dragon, and gave him some 
bread that she had brought with her. But the bread 
had been soaked in a sweet juice which throws every 
one who tastes it into the deepest sleep, so when the 
dragon had swallowed it, his eyes closed for the first 
time in his life, and he fell asleep and snored so loudly 



THE QUEST OF THE ARGONAUTS 1(55 

that all the birds in the wood awoke and flew away. 
Then Jason came forward and climbed up the tall oak 
and fetched down the Fleece, and when he had done 
this, they went back to the shore. Jason had thrown 
the Fleece over his arm, and the Argonauts, who were 
on the look-out for him, could see him coming towards 
them with his shining prize while he was still a long- 
way off, and they pulled up the great stones which had 
been used as anchors, and made everything ready for 
their departure. But Medea went back once more to 
her father's palace, and creeping quietly upstairs, she 
took her little brother Absyrtus gently out of his bed, 
and then set out on her flight. She took him with 
her, not because she loved her brother, but because she 
thought he might be found useful in case her father 
should pursue them. You will soon hear what 
happened to him. 

4. The Journey Rome. 

When they were all in the ship, the heroes pushed 
off and sailed away. As it was midnight the helmsman 
had to steer by the stars, but he knew how to guide 
the ship towards the setting sun which was the direc- 
tion in which Greece lay and by daybreak they were 
already far from the land. King Aeetes came down to 
the shore with his followers, who took with them 
weapons to fight with, and also torches for burning the 
ship. But when they reached it, they stood rubbing 
their eyes, for they could see neither the ship nor the 
heroes, and when they looked towards the forest, there 
was the dragon in a ieep sleep, and the Golden Fleece 



166 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

was gone. Soon the king heard that Medea had fled 
and had taken with her the little Absyrtus, and then 
he knew who it was that had helped the Argonauts, and 
he was more angry than he had ever been in his life. 
He and his men got into the swiftest ship they had, 
and he promised to reward them nobly if they succeeded 
in overtaking the Argo. 

They rowed with all their might, and towards even- 
ing they came in sight of the Argo. Medea knew that 
all on board would be killed if they fell into the hands 
of her father, and w T hen his ship had almost overtaken 
the Argo, she took a long knife and stabbed her brother 
Absyrtus to death, and cut him in pieces before the 
eyes of Aeetes and flung the pieces into the sea. The 
king who had been so angry, now tore his hair for 
grief; he no longer cared about the Grolden Fleece, and 
his only desire was to obtain the corpse of his. son in 
order to bury it, for at that time it was believed that 
those whose bodies were not buried had no rest in the 
Lower World, and the king would not for the world have 
let his child's body be eaten by the fishes. He com- 
manded his men to stop and look for the pieces, and 
by the time they had collected them all, the Argo was 
far out of sight, and they were obliged to turn back. 
The king grieved bitterly for his dead son, and when he 
came home he buried him with great magnificence. 
When that was done, the wish nearest his heart was to 
catch the Argo, and he manned three ships with sailors, 
and told them to go in search of her and never to 
return till they had found her. They sailed about in 
all directions, but could not find a trace of the ship 
anywhere, so as they were afraid to go back to the king 



THE QUEST OF THE ARGONAUTS. 167 

without her, they moored on a strange island, where 
they settled down and built houses and remained for 
the rest of their lives. Aeetes was meanwhile spending 
all his days in watching for their return. 

A violent storm now overtook the Argo. The sea 
was stirred up and refused to carry peacefully on her 
bosom the ship in which the sister had murdered her 
brother, and the waves rose as high as mountains, so 
that those who were on board the ship had to hold on 
to the sides and mast in order to avoid falling into x the 
sea. At last the Sacred Beam which was planted in 
the fore part of the vessel, spoke, and said that the 
storm would not cease, nor would they have any pro- 
sperity in their voyage, until Medea and Jason had been 
purged from the stain of blood, and that they had better 
go to the enchantress Circe and beg her to do this for 
them. So they sailed to the island where Circe lived, 
and Medea and Jason left the others in the ship and 
went ashore to the palace of the enchantress and 
placed themselves on the hearth, which was the place 
sacred to those who came to sue for help. Circe asked 
what their request was, and Medea told her all that had 
happened and begged her to atone for their crimes. 
At first she refused to do this, for King Aeetes was her 
brother, and it was her nephew that they had murdered ; 
but at last she was persuaded, and purified them with 
sacrifices and baths. When this had been done, they 
went back to the ship and continued their voyage, and 
they had now such lovely weather that the fishes came 
up from the bottom of the sea and played merrily in 
the sunshine. 

After some time the Argonauts came to the wicked 



168 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

Sirens, who were treacherous nymphs that lived in the 
sea. Their faces were marvellously beautiful, and they 
sang so enchantingly that every one who heard them 
was bewitched and could not help going to them. 
But under the water they had great ugly claws instead 
of hands, and their bodies ended in a hideous fish-tail. 
They clutched those who came to them with their 
claws and ate them up, and all the reef where they 
lived was strewn with the bones of the men they had 
eaten. But even those who knew how cruel and 
treacherous they were, could no longer believe it when 
they heard them sing, and could never resist jumping 
into the sea and swimming towards them. When the 
Sirens saw the ship approaching, full of noble heroes, 
they thought they were going to have a grand feast 
and began to sing their sweetest songs. They would 
have enticed even the Argonauts, and all the witchcraft 
of Medea would have been powerless to save them, if 
there had not been a hero on board, named Orpheus, 
who was famous all over Greece for his singing and 
playing, and who had such marvellous power over the 
hearts of men that no one who heard him could refrain 
from weeping, however cruel and hard he might be. So 
the moment the Sirens began, Orpheus took his lyre and 
sang in opposition to them, and he sang so gloriously 
that the heroes listened to him rather than to the Sirens, 
and the dolphins, who are very fond of music, came and 
followed the ship till the song was ended. 

The Argonauts next came to the Wandering Eocks, 
which swam about in the sea and were shrouded in 
thick smoke, through which flames of fire could be seen 
coming out of crevices in their sides. It seemed as if 



THE QUEST OF THE ARGONAUTS. 169 

it were a sort of amusement to them to give chase to 
ships and destroy them, and when they had dashed 
them to pieces, there was the fire ready at hand to 
burn them up. No ship had ever yet reached home in 
safety after passing them. But the goddess Hera was 
unwilling to see the brave heroes on board the Argo 
perish miserably, so she commanded the nymphs who 
lived at the bottom of the sea to protect the vessel ; 
these were not wicked nymphs like the Sirens, but 
kind and friendly to brave heroes. A great splashing 
was heard in the water, and ever so many nymphs 
came up from the bottom of the sea, each one more 
beautiful than the last. They swam round the ship, 
and when one of the rocks came towards her from the 
right, meaning to crush her, they pushed her away to 
the left, and when a rock came from the left, they 
pushed the ship to the right, and they did it so fast 
that the rocks could not overtake her. This amused 
them very much, and they laughed out merrily when- 
ever the rocks shot past them. Soon the Argonauts 
were again out in the open sea, and they thanked 
the nymphs many times for their help. Then the 
nymphs went back to their homes at the bottom of the 
sea. 

After rowing for a long time, the heroes came to 
the island of Crete. They would have liked to go on 
shore, but there was an iron watchman who refused to 
allow any one to land without the king's express per- 
mission. His name was Talos, and he had been made 
out of iron by the blacksmith -god Hephaestus, who 
gave him to Minos the king of Crete. Minos used 
him as a watchman, and made him run round the 



I/O MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

whole island three times every day and drive away any 
strangers who might approach it. He was all iron, ex- 
cepting a single vein that ran from his head right 
down to his feet, and was fastened underneath with 
iron nails which held in the life blood that ran through 
the vein and kept him alive. When Talos saw the 
ship fall of heroes coming, he stood still and threw great 
stones at her. It would have been of no use for the 
Argonauts to shoot spears and arrows at him in return, 
for he could not be wounded ; so Medea called out to 
him over the water, ' Talos, if you will be kind to us 
and let us land, I will show you how you may become 
immortal.' Talos was pleased at this, and he began to 
make friendly grimaces, and shouted back his answer 
in a voice that came out of his iron body like the 
sound of a great trumpet. He said, ' First tell me how 
I may become immortal, and then I will let you land.' 
But Medea answered him deceitfully, and she called 
tack, 'Draw out the nail that is in your foot, and all 
that is mortal in you will flow out.' Talos believed 
her, and he sat down on the shore and drew out the 
nail with some difficulty, for it had been well ham- 
mered in. Then the red blood flowed out, and Talos 
was glad, for he thought it was his mortality which was 
leaving him; but he became weaker and weaker, and 
when the last drop of blood had flowed out of his body, 
he was dead, and there was nothing left but a cold 
lump of iron. The Argonauts could now sail to the 
land without hindrance, and they clambered down out 
of the ship and hunted some wild animals, which they 
cooked and made a feast of, on the shore. 

The Argonauts sailed from Crete to Greece without 



THE QUEST OE THE ARGONAUTS. 171 

stopping, for the gods gave them favourable winds, and 
when at last they came in sight of the Grecian coast, 
they all rejoiced greatly at seeing their beloved country 
again. They landed at that part of it which is called 
the Isthmus, and is the road between the peninsula 
of Peloponnesus and the rest of Greece, and there they 
drew the Argo up on to the shore. The brave ship had 
been beaten against many a rock, and had been so long 
in deep water that she was covered with green slime. 
The Argonauts said that she should never be used for 
any other journey, and they dedicated her to the sea- 
god Poseidon as a thank-offering to him for having 
brought them home in safety. She remained for a 
very long time standing on the Isthmus, and every one 
who went by, looked at her and thought of the many 
dangers and difficulties that the Argonauts had passed 
through. At last however, the Sacred Beam died, and 
soon afterwards the Argo herself fell to pieces, for the 
boards of which she was made had become quite rotten. 

5. Medea? s Revenge. 

When the heroes arrived in Greece, they separated 
and returned to their own homes, and Jason and Medea 
went to Iolcus where king Pelias lived. Pelias had 
thought that it would be quite impossible for Jason ever 
to return, because of all the dangers he would meet with 
ingoing to fetch the Golden Fleece, and he had killed his 
brother, Jason's father, for fear he should in some way 
avenge the death of his son, — so that when the young 
hero walked into the palace with the Golden Fleece 
hanging over his arm, the king turned red and pale by 



172 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

turns. Jason did not know as yet of the injury that 
Pelias had done him ; but when he went to his father's 
house he found it empty, and the people told him that 
his father had been killed by order of the king. Jason 
was very sad at hearing this, and could no longer take 
any pleasure in the thought of all the great deeds he 
had done ; but Medea told him not to grieve, for she 
would avenge the wrong he had suffered. She thought, 
too, that if Pelias were dead, Jason would be the king 
of Iolcus and she the queen, and she advised Jason to 
dissemble, and behave as if he had forgiven the king, 
whilst she herself went every day to the palace and 
made friends with his daughters. One day she told 
them that if they had spirit enough to venture on it, 
they could make their old father young again, though 
his hair was already white and his face was covered 
with wrinkles. The princesses would not believe Medea, 
but she said she would prove it, and she took an old 
ram and slew him, and cut him up into several pieces, 
and laid the pieces in a great caldron of boiling water, 
and when she had poured a magic juice over them, a 
young lamb jumped out of the caldron, and no trace of 
the ram could be seen. Then the girls believed Medea, 
and begged her to give them the magic juice with 
which to make their old father young again ; but Medea 
gave them instead, a liquid, which looked just like it, 
but which had no power whatever. The king's daugh- 
ters did not delay a single day, but the next time their 
father was asleep, they went to him and killed him, and 
one struck off. his head, while the others cut the rest of 
his body into pieces. They had a huge caldron stand- 
ing ready on the fire, into which they threw the pieces, 



THE QUEST OF THE ARGONAUTS. 173 

and then they poured over them the liquid that Medea 
had given them, expecting to see their father come out 
a young man. But Pelias was dead, and dead he 
remained. The princesses watched the caldron for a 
long time, but at last they were obliged to give up all 
hope, and then they broke out into bitter wailing and 
rushed about the streets with dishevelled hair, crying 
out that Medea had deceived them and made them 
kill their father without knowing what they were 
doing. The people had not cared for Pelias because 
he had been a cruel and severe man, but they would 
not sanction the treachery by which he had come to his 
end, and instead of choosing Jason for their new king, 
they chose the son of Pelias, so that things turned out 
very differently from Medea's expectations, and she and 
Jason had to leave the country. 

They went to the eity of Corinth, where King Creon 
ruled. He received them with open arms, for he had 
heard of Jason's brave deeds and was glad that he had 
come to live in his country, and he gave him a beautiful 
house with meadows and vineyards and orchards all 
round it. Jason and Medea lived there in peace for 
ten years, and the gods sent them two children whom 
Medea loved dearly ; they were the first human beings 
she had ever really cared for. But the king had a 
daughter named Grlauce, who was only a child when 
Jason first went to Corinth but had now grown up to 
be a very beautiful maiden, and Creon was anxious that 
she should marry a noble hero, for she was his only 
child, and her husband would be king of Corinth after 
his death and would inherit all his riches. And as 
Jason pleased him well, he said to him that if he would 



1/4 MYTHS OP HELLAS. 

get rid of Medea, he would give him his daughter 
Glauce for his wife. Jason no longer cared for Medea 
as he had once done, because she was of a gloomy, dis- 
contented nature, and he thought that if he were rich, 
he could make up to her for the wrong he would do her 
by taking another wife. So he told the king that he 
would agree to his proposal, and he said to Medea that 
he would give her a great deal of gold and silver, and 
the most beautif al dresses that could be made, and that 
she should never want for anything, but live just as if 
she were the richest queen in the world. He also told 
her that he was making this new marriage for the sake 
of his children, in order that they might have a king 
for their father. Meclea was very angry about it in 
her heart, but she pretended to agree, and when the 
day came on which the marriage was to be celebrated, 
she gave Jason a magnificent robe and begged him to 
take it to Glauce as a present from herself. Jason took 
it without any suspicion, and Glauce was very much 
pleased with it and went into her bedchamber to put 
it on for the wedding. But the robe had been dipped in 
a poisonous juice, and as soon as it became warm it 
burst out into flames. Glauce could not tear it off, and 
she screamed for help; her father and Jason came 
running to try and put out the fire, but nothing they 
could do was of any use, and Glauce perished miserably. 
Creon threw himself upon the dead body of his daugh- 
ter and tore his hair and wept bitterly, but Jason drew 
his sword and rushed home to kill Medea. But as he 
came near the house, he looked up at the sky and saw 
a chariot drawn by two winged dragons, in which Medea 
was driving away. Medea had purposed to kill her two 



THE QUEST OF THE ARGONAUTS. 175 

children before she went, because of the pain which she 
knew this would cause Jason ; but when she had taken 
up the dagger, the children, who did not know what was 
in her mind, stood looking at her with their pretty blue 
eyes, and she had not the heart to carry out her inten- 
tion, but caught them up in her arms and covered them 
with kisses, and then fled away in the enchanted 
chariot. 



176 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 



XXVIII. 

THESEUS. 

There was a great and famous city in Greece called 
Athens, about which, when it was first built, there arose 
a strife between the sea-god Poseidon and the wise 
goddess Athene, as to which of them should be its pro- 
tector, for the Greek cities were each under the special 
care and guardianship of some god or goddess. As 
they could not agree about it, the other gods said that 
they must each bring a present to the city, and that it 
should belong to whichever of them gave it the best 
present. The gods assembled one day in the fortress, 
which had been built on a hill in the middle of the 
city. 1 Poseidon struck the ground with his trident 
and out sprang a noble animal which was the first 
horse that had ever been seen, and the gods admired 
the beautiful creature very much. Then it was the 
turn of Athene, and she brought forth the olive tree, 
which bears the olives from which oil is made, and ex- 
plained how the fruit could be made use of. After this 
the gods gave their judgment, and they said : — ' This 
is such a stony land that the citizens would find the 
noble horse of little service, for the horse cannot go well 
1 This fortress was afterwards called the Acropolis of Athens. 



THESEUS. 177 

over uneven ground, but the olive-tree would flourish, 
and would be useful to the citizens in many ways.' So 
the city was placed under the guardianship of Athene 
and was named after her, and the citizens planted olive- 
trees all over the country and found in these their chief 
wealth. They took great care of the tree in the fortress 
from which all the others had sprung, and it outlived 
its children and its grandchildren. But after many 
years had passed, the country was invaded by some 
enemies who laid waste all the beautiful houses and 
temples and even burnt the sacred olive-tree itself 
down to the roots. On the next day, however, when 
all round it there was nothing to be seen but smoking 
ruins, behold ! a new olive-tree had sprung from the 
ashes of the old one, which grew, and became in time a 
large tree. 

The city of Athens was at one time ruled over by a 
king named Aegeus, who had a wife but no children. 
This was a great sorrow to him, but his brother Pallas 
was very glad of it, for he had fifty sons, and he thought 
that if Aegeus died without children his sons would 
inherit the kingdom. After a time however the wife 
of Aegeus died, and soon afterwards he went to stay 
with a king who lived in the city of Troezen, which 
was several days' journey from Athens ; there he 
was secretly married to the king's beautiful daughter 
Aethra, and his great wish was fulfilled, for Aethra 
had a young son whom they named Theseus. Aegeus 
would not however take him back to Athens with him, 
for he feared that his brother's sons, the wild Pallan- 
tidae, would try to kill him. So* he resolved to leave 
the child to be brought up by his mother in Troezen, 

H 



178 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

and before he set out on his journey home he buried 
his sword and his sandals underneath a huge stone, 
and told Aethra that when Theseus was strong enough 
to heave up the stone and take the sword and sandals 
from under it, he must leave her and come to him 
at Athens. After this he went back to his kingdom 
without telling any one that the gods had given him 
a son. Aethra loved her son Theseus very dearly 
and brought him up with great care, and he grew 
handsome and strong, and delighted above everything 
in listening to his mother whilst she told him stories 
about all the old heroes, and especially about the 
strong Heracles, who had killed so many monsters and 
driven away all the robbers out of the land. Theseus 
did not know who his father was, but when he had 
become a young man and the down was beginning 
to grow upon his chin, Aethra thought he would be 
strong enough to lift the stone, and she took him to 
the place where it lay, and told him that underneath 
it were the sword and sandals of his father who was 
Aegeus, the king of Athens. With a great effort 
Theseus succeeded in lifting the huge stone, for it 
had become deeply embedded in the earth ; and then 
Aethra told him that his father was still alive, and 
that he was to take the sword and sandals and go to 
him at Athens ; and Theseus rejoiced at hearing this, 
and prepared to set off at once. It was a very danger- 
ous journey from Troezen to Athens for there were 
many robbers on the way, and the old king wanted to 
give Theseus a ship, so that he might go by sea with 
much less risk. His mother also was anxious that he 
should take the easier journey, but Theseus was a brave 






THESEUS. 179 

hero, and instead of being afraid of the robbers, he was 
only eager to meet with them. So they were obliged 
to let him have his own way, and comforted themselves 
by praying to the gods to protect him. 

Theseus accordingly set out on his journey, and he 
had not long left Troezen when he came to a savage 
robber who lurked by the roadside, and who was called 
the Club-carrier. He had a very ugly face, and was 
lame, but very strong ; and he used to lie on the grass 
among the trees, and whenever a traveller passed by, he 
sprang out and struck him down with a heavy iron club 
which he wielded quite easily, and then he robbed him 
of his goods. When Theseus came along the road, the 
robber sprang out to kill him ; but Theseus avoided the 
blow, so that the heavy club struck the earth beside 
him, and then he wrestled with the robber. He at 
last succeeded in wrenching the club out of his hand, 
and then he battered his head with it, so that the Club- 
carrier died by the same weapon with which he had 
killed others. This was the first heroic deed that 
Theseus had performed, and he took the iron club away 
with him to serve both for a weapon and a trophy. 

Soon afterwards he came to a fir-wood, where there 
'lived a robber called the Fir-bender. He was tall and 
strong, with long bristly hair, and he looked very fierce 
and wild. It was his delight to seize travellers and 
torture them cruelly : he used to berid two flexible fir- 
trees down to the ground, and tie each of the traveller's 
feet to one of these trees, and then he let them spring 
apart, and broke out into a hideous laugh when he saw 
the body torn in two and one half hanging to each of 
the trees. Theseus knew that the robber lived in the 

N 2 



180 MYTH6 OF HELLAS. 

forest, and he went straight to his house. The Fir- 
bender came out to seize him, but Theseus wrestled 
with him and threw him. He resolved to punish him 
with the torture that he had himself devised, and he 
bent down two young fir-trees and tore the robber's body 
in two, though he screamed horribly and entreated 
Theseus to spare him. The Fir-bender had a daughter 
called Perigune who lived with him in the forest. She 
was not at all like her father, but was, on the contrary, 
gentle and good, and she used to tend the plants and 
flowers that grew near their house. When she saw that 
Theseus had killed her father, she was afraid and thought 
he would kill her too, so she hid herself among some 
large-leaved plants, and said to 1 ' them, just as if they 
could understand her, that if they would shelter her 
she would never pluck any of "them again. Theseus 
looked everywhere for her, but he could not see her on 
account of the thick leaves. He guessed that she must 
have hidden herself, and so he called out to her not to 
be afraid, for he would not do her any harm. His voice 
sounded so kind that she was encouraged to come out, 
and they sat and talked together, and Perigune gave 
him some food, after which Theseus took leave of 
her and went away. The girl never plucked any flowers 
from the plants among which she had hidden herself, 
nor from any others of the same kind, and when she 
became the wife of a hero she taught her children that 
they must never do so either, and they in turn brought 
up their children in the same way, so that no one who 
was of the race of the robber ever injured any plants of 
that kind. 

Theseus had heard that there was a fierce she-boar 



THESEUS. 181 

in the neighbourhood that did a great deal of damage, 
and he resolved that he would rid the people of her. 
He came up on her footprints in the grass, and followed 
them till he had tracked her to her den. She started 
up to kill him with her tusks, and a fierce struggle 
followed, in which Theseus handled his club valiantly, 
and at last hit the boar a mighty blow on the head 
which cracked her skull and made an end of her. Then 
Theseus wiped the dew from his forehead and continued 
his journey. His road now lay along a rocky path above 
the sea, and he presently came to a rock which was the 
abode of the robber Sciron. He was a strong, powerful 
man, who amused himself in a very horrible manner. 
He used to sit on a rock above the sea, blocking up the 
road so that no one could pass, and he compelled every 
traveller who came that way to wash his feet, and while 
they were doing this he kicked them over the cliff, so 
that they fell down into the sea where there lurked a 
great tortoise ready to eat them up. Theseus treated 
the robber just as he had treated others ; he was the 
stronger of the two, and he compelled Sciron to do as 
he told him, and wash his feet, and then he kicked him 
over the cliff, and the tortoise seized him by the neck 
and gobbled him up. 

That same evening Theseus reached the house of 
the wicked Stretcher, whose custom it was to sit before 
his door and invite travellers to lodge with him for the 
night. He always fed them sumptuously, but at bed-time 
he brought out two bedsteads, a big one and a little one, 
and he took the short people to the big bedstead and 
killed them by stretching out their limbs till they were as 
long as the couch, (for which reason he was called the 



182 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

Stretcher) and the tall people he laid upon the little 
bedstead and lopped off as much of their limbs as 
extended beyond it, and then he left them to bleed to 
death. Theseus behaved as if he did not know about, 
the robber's wicked practices : he ate and drank and 
carried on a cheerful conversation, but when the robber 
led him into the sleeping-chamber, Theseus seized him 
round the body, threw him on to the short bedstead, 
and then drew his sword and hewed off his legs above 
the knees ; then two great streams of blood gushed 
forth, and the robber died. Theseus dragged the body 
out into the open air where it was devoured by wolves, 
vultures, and ravens, but he himself lay down to rest in 
the house and slept till the morning, and when the day 
dawned, he went on his way. The Stretcher was the 
last robber he met with, and ever after this journey 
of his, travellers could go from Troezen to Greece 
without fear of being robbed and killed, and as they 
journeyed they thought of the young hero Theseus to 
whom they owed their safety, 

Theseus soon afterwards arrived in Athens. He 
first of all bathed himself in a stream near the city, for 
he was covered with dust and blood, and when he was 
cleansed, he entered the town and was conducted to his 
father's palace. He went in saying that he was a 
stranger, and begged the king to show him hospitality. 
Aegeus was now old, and he was very sorrowful, for he 
thought that his son must be dead and that the wicked 
Pallantidae would succeed to the kingdom. The witch 
Medea was with him, for he had received her when she 
fled from Corinth in her chariot drawn by dragons. 1 
1 Sec page 175. 



THESEUS. 183 

She was w. se and crafty in speech, and she had succeeded 
in gaining so great an influence over the king that he 
asked her advice in all things, and followed it. No one 
knew who Theseus was except Medea, but she knew, 
for she could find out any secret by means of her magic 
arts. She was not at all pleased that Theseus had come 
to Athens, for she feared that the king would set greater 
store by his son than by her, and that her power would 
now be at an end. So she told Aegeus that the stranger 
was a kinsman of the Pallantidae, and that he had come 
for the purpose of killing him. The poor old king be- 
lieved what she told him and was seized with fear, and 
he asked her what he had better do to save his life. 
Medea answered that she would mix some poison with 
the wine that Theseus was to drink, and Aegeus gave 
her leave to do so. But while they were at dinner, it 
happened that Theseus wanted to cut off a piece of 
roasted meat, and he drew his sword to cut it, for 
the Greeks had not at that time learnt the use of 
knives and forks. Then Aegeus recognised the sword, 
and he sprang up and dashed the goblet from the table ; 
the poisoned wine flowed all over the floor, but Aegeus 
paid no attention to it, for he had flung his arms round 
Theseus, and was embracing him and crjing out, 'My 
son, my son.' Both the father and son rejoiced greatly 
at thus finding each other, and they had many things 
to ask and to tell, and when Theseus related how he 
had destroyed the robbers, the joy of the old king was 
doubled at finding that his son was so brave a hero. 
Meanwhile he gave no thought to the wicked Medea 
who had intended to poison Theseus, and she went out 
and called her dragon-car. It came rushing through 



184 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

the air towards her, and she got into it and flew away, 
and has never been seen again. 

The old king was quite happy now, and he sent a 
herald to proclaim all through the city that Theseus 
was his son and the heir to his kingdom. No one 
grudged him his happiness except the wicked Pallas 
and his sons, who till now had been the chief men in 
the city. They were rich and had a great many ser- 
vants, and they assembled them all in a little wood near 
the city, intending to leave some of them there in 
ambush, and to lead the otherj towards the city and 
shout to Theseus to come out and fight them. They 
thought that he would come out against them with a 
few men only, and that after the battle had begun, they 
would be joined by the servants left in the wood which 
would make the odds very unequal ; and they hoped that 
they would thus be able to kill Theseus, and then go 
on into the city and murder the old king. But after 
they had made all their preparations, one of the ser- 
vants went to Aegeus and revealed the treachery they 
were planning. Then Theseus went out towards the 
wood, followed by a number of the citizens, and slew 
the men who were in ambush there, and when the rest 
heard that, they were afraid, and fled from the country. 

Theseus was anxious to perform some heroic deed 
which would benefit the Athenians and make them 
love and honour him. There was at that time a fierce 
bull in the country who killed men and cattle, and who 
was called the Bull of Marathon, because he lived near 
Marathon, which is close to Athens. It was the same 
beast that had formerly been called the Cretan Bull, and 
had been brought by Heracles from Crete, at the com- 



THESEUS. 185 

mand of Eurystheus, as his seventh Labour. 1 Ever since 
that time the savage bull had been at large in Greece, 
doing much damage. Theseus went out against him 
without either sword or club, for he wished to overcome 
the bull by his own hero-strength alone, and bring him 
alive to Athens ; some of the citizens' went with him, 
but only to look on at a distance. When Theseus came 
in sight of the bull, he stood still, and the bull rushed 
at him, bellowing and lowering his head to run his 
horns into him and toss him up high into the air, as he 
had tossed many a one before. But Theseus seized 
him by the horns and dragged him aside, and then a 
mighty wrestling took place, — the eyes of the young hero 
glowed like fire, and the veins of his arms were swollen 
high with the effort he had to make. When they had 
wrestled for some time, the bull grew tired and tried to 
get free, but Theseus held him fast and dragged him 
into the city, and all the Athenians came out to meet 
him, and they praised him and said that he was like 
Heracles. Theseus then took the bull to the temple of 
Apollo to sacrifice him to the god. He cut off the 
hairs from the animal's forehead, as the custom was, 
and laid them in the flame of the fire that was burning 
on the altar and prayed to Apollo, and then he took 
up the sacrificial axe, and felled the great bull to the 
ground with a single blow. The sacrifice was then 
performed in the usual manner, and it was the most 
splendid animal that had ever been offered to any god. 
The Athenians were proud of their strong young prince, 
and they loved and honoured him. 

Not long after this, the time came round when the 
1 See page 122. 



180 MYTHS OF HELLAS, 

Athenians were obliged to send their tribute to the 
king of Crete ; it was, indeed, a shameful tribute, — 
seven youths and seven maidens, who were sent to 
perish there miserably. Minos, the king of Crete, 
had had a son named Androgeus, who had once hap- 
pened to come to Athens just when there was a feast 
going on, and sports in which all the young men vied 
with one another in feats of skill and strength, and he 
had taken part in the sports, and had excelled all others 
and won the prize of honour. But the Athenians were 
very angry at his having beaten them, and they lay in 
wait for him as he was on his way home, and fell upon 
him and killed him. When his father, King Minos, 
heard of this, he swore that the Athenians should suffer 
for it, and he prepared his ships and sailed with a 
mighty army to fight against Athens. The gods took 
the part of Minos and sent a pestilence among the 
Athenians ; they also dried up their rivers and spoiled 
their harvests, so that there was great distress through- 
out the country. At last the Athenians were obliged 
to sue for peace, and Minos granted it on condition 
that every nine years they should give him a tribute of 
seven youths and seven maidens. There was a wonderful 
house in Crete where the youths and maidens who were 
sent as tribute met with a miserable death. The house 
was called the Labyrinth, and it was as large as a town, 
and had countless courts and galleries. Those who 
entered it without being familiar with its passages could 
never find their way out again, and they hurried from 
one to another of the numberless rooms looking for the 
entrance door, but all in vain, — they only became more 
and more hopelessly lost in the bewildering house, and 



THESEUS. 1ST 

at last a monster who lived there, came and ate them 
up. He was called the Minotaur, and he had the form 
of a man, excepting his head, which was that of a bull, 
and he had a bull's voice. 

When the time for paying the tribute came round, 
all the youths and maidens of Athens had to assemble 
in the market-place. Then two brazen vessels were 
brought out, and they put a number of balls into each 
of them ; into one vessel they put as many balls as 
there were youths in the city, and into the other as 
many balls as there were maidens ; seven of the balls 
in each vessel were black, and all the rest were white. 
All the youths and maidens in turn had to put their 
hand into one of the vessels and draw out a ball with- 
out looking, and those who drew the black balls had to 
go on board the ship that was waiting to take them to 
Crete. For this sorrowful journey the ship always had 
black sails instead of white ones. 

It was now the third time that the Athenians had 
been obliged to pay the tribute of seven youths and 
seven maidens to the king of Crete. When Theseus 
heard about it, he begged his father to let him sail 
with them, for he hoped that he would be able to kill 
the monster and deliver the Athenians. The king was 
afraid that Theseus would never come back, notwith- 
standing the great deeds he had already performed, and 
he refused at first to give his consent; but Theseus said 
that it would be a disgrace to him if he did not go, and he 
persisted in his request till his father granted it. When 
the others had been chosen by lot, they all went on 
board the ship which was ready to sail, and Aegeus and 
many others went down to the shore to take leave of 



188 MYTHS OF HELLAS/ 

them. All were heart-broken at the parting except- 
ing Theseus, but he was in very good spirits, for he 
hoped this would be the last time that such a journey 
would have to be made. The old king gave him a, 
white sail which he begged him to hoist if he came 
back in safety, saying, ' If you are alive when the ship 
returns, let me know it by this signal ; but if on the 
contrary you have perished, the black sail will tell me 
the sad news as soon as the ship comes in sight.' 
Theseus promised to do as his father wished, and then 
he went on board the vessel and gave the signal to the 
sailors, who plied their oars and pushed off from 
the land. And Aegeus returned home and prayed to 
the gods to bring his son back to him in safety. 

After some time the voyage came to an end, and 
the ship with the black sails arrived in Crete. Minos 
sent his soldiers to conduct the youths and maidens to 
a dungeon where they were to remain till the next day, 
and as they passed through the streets many people 
crowded to look at them, lamenting that the young 
lives should be sacrificed. The procession went past 
the palace gate where King Minos was standing with 
his daughter Ariadne, who was a very beautiful girl. 
When Ariadne saw Theseus she could not help gazing 
at him, for she thought he looked more like a true hero 
than any one she had ever seen, though many heroes 
came to her father's court. She could not bear to think 
that he must perish, and all night long, when every one 
else was asleep, she lay awake on her couch thinking 
how she could save him. In the morning she watched 
for an opportunity and went to the prison, where she 
had no difficulty in getting in because she was the 



THESEUS. 189 

king's (.laughter. She called Theseus apart, and told him 
that she loved him and longed to save him, and she 
gave him a ball of thread and said that lie must secretly 
fasten one end of it to the entrance of the Labyrinth 
and unravel it as he went along, so that he might be 
able to find bis way out again. She also gave him a 
sharp sword which she had taken from her father's 
armoury, that he might be armed for his struggle 
with the Minotaur. Theseus thanked the beautiful 
Ariadne, and told her that he was the son of the king 
of Athens, and that if he escaped in safety from the 
Labyrinth he would take her home with him to be his 
wife. She willingly consented to this, and then left 
the prison, and soon afterwards the guards came to 
take the prisoners to the Labyrinth ; they did not see 
the sword and the ball of thread which Ariadne had 
given to Theseus, for he had hidden them in his robe. 
When they reached the Labyrinth they led the prisoners 
a long way into it and then left them, thinking that 
they would never find their way out again, for they 
did not notice that Theseus had unfastened his ball 
at the entrance and let the thread pass through his 
fingers as he went along. When the guards had turned 
back, the youths and maidens thought they would ha.ve 
to wander about hopelessly until the Minotaur came 
and devoured them, but Theseus spoke to them en- 
couragingly, and said that by the help of the gods he 
would slay the monster and bring them out of their 
trouble. About mid-day they heard the monster bel- 
lowing in the distance ; he was still some way from 
them, but he scented human blood, and as he came 
nearei his bellowing grew louder and louder. The 



190 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

others crowded together in a corner, each wanting to 
be the last to meet him, but Theseus stood forward in 
the middle of the room with his naked sword raised, 
waiting for his approach. He was as tall again as a 
man, and he had powerful fists and a huge mouth, and 
on his head were two great horns. He stretched out 
his arm to seize Theseus and opened his mouth to bite 
off his head, but Theseus sprang behind him and hewed 
off one of his legs at the knee joint, and then the huge 
giant fell down and bellowed until the walls shook with 
the noise he made.' Theseus measured with his eye to 
see where his heart must be, and taking careful aim, 
he stabbed him through the back at that place. A 
great stream of blood gushed out, and the monster lay 
on the ground groaning and moaning and beating about 
wildly with his arms ; he did not hit any one, however, 
and before long he was dead. The youths and maidens 
all came round Theseus, and they fell down and kissed 
his feet and hands. They waited till it was dark, and 
then set out to leave the Labyrinth, Theseus going in 
front and winding up the ball of thread as he went. 
They passed through room after room and court after 
court, till at last they reached the door, where they 
found Ariadne waiting for them ; she had stolen away 
from the palace, and was full of joy when she saw them 
arrive. Then they all went together to the ship, which at 
once put out to sea, and by daybreak they were already 
far away. King Minos thought his daughter must have 
been carried off by robbers, for it never occurred to him 
that she could have sailed away with the prisoners whom 
he believed to have been devoured by the Minotaur, 
and he searched for her all over the island. When he 



THESEUS; 191 

heard, some time afterwards, what had really happened, 
he was so amazed at the bravery of Theseus that he 
never again ventured to demand the tribute from the 
Athenians. 

When Theseus and his companions had sailed for 
some days, they came to the island of Naxos, and as it 
was evening,, they went ashore to sleep. Naxos was the 
favourite country of Dionysus, the wine-god ; he often 
used to stay in the island, and he caused the finest 
vines to grow there. Theseus and his companions slept 
on the shore, and towards morning, Dionysus appeared 
to Theseus in a dream and said to him, 4 Eise up and 
return home at once with your friends, but leave Ariadne 
behind you, for T myself have chosen her to be my 
wife.' Theseus awoke very sorrowful at having to leave 
the beautiful Ariadne, but he knew that he must do as 
the god commanded, and he roused his companions and 
told them his dream, and then they went softly down 
to the ship and sailed away, leaving Ariadne asleep on 
the island. When it was bright daylight, Ariadne 
awoke and found herself alone. She sprang up and ran 
down to the shore, and seeing the ship some way out 
at sea, she thought they had forgotten her, and waved 
her veil as a signal for them to come back. The ship's 
crew saw her, but they sailed on all the same, and then 
Ariadne sat down on the shore and wept bitterly, for 
she thought that Theseus had abandoned her because 
he did not love her, and that she was left to perish in 
misery and distress. As she sat thus weeping, with her 
beautiful head resting on her hand, and with her mind 
fall of sad thoughts, she heard a sound of flute-playing 
on the island, which came nearer and nearer, and a 



192 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

crowd of men and women appeared before her in a 
strange procession. The foremost was a marvellously 
beautiful youth, who had a crown of vine-leaves on his 
head, and drove in a golden chariot drawn by two 
spotted panthers. The youth was Dionysus, and he 
went up to Ariadne and said, ' Do not be afraid ; I am 
the god who created the vine, and I love you, and am 
going to make you my wife.' The marriage was cele- 
brated that. very day, and all the woods and valleys in 
the island resounded with sweet music ; the Bacchantes 
danced and sang, and the old Silenus who had taken care 
of Dionysus in his childhood 1 was intoxicated the whole 
day long by way of doing honour to his master. Ariadne 
was now the wife of the god Dionysus, and she became 
immortal, and was gifted with perpetual youth. 

The ship that carried away Theseus soon reached 
Athens, but Theseus was so absorbed in thoughts of 
Ariadne that he forgot to hoist the white sails which 
were to announce his safe return. The aged Aegeus had 
passed the greater part of the time since his son had 
left him in sitting on a high rock from which he could 
see far over the sea. At last he spied a sail coming 
towards him, but when it approached a little nearer, he 
saw that it was a black one. Then he thought that the 
ship was returning without Theseus, and he threw him- 
self over into the sea because he could not bear to live 
any longer. Some of the people who were on the shore 
saw what he had done, and they at once got into a boat 
and sailed to the place where he had disappeared, 
hoping to save him ; but they were too late, for when 
they found him he was already dead. They laid the 
1 See page 65. 



THESEUS. 193 

corpse on a bier, and were standing sadly round it 
when the ship came sailing in. The youths on board 
raised a shout of joy at reaching their home again, but 
the others beckoned to them to be silent, and pointed 
to the corpse. When Theseus knew that his father 
had killed himself at the sight of the black sail, he was 
very much distressed, and he threw himself upon the 
corpse shedding bitter tears. In the evening the 
Athenians carried the bier to the palace, and the next 
day they raised a funeral pyre, and when they had burnt 
the body, they placed the ashes in a costly urn. Theseus 
sorrowed long for his father, and bitterly regretted that 
he had not remembered the white sail at the right time. 
Theseus was now king, and he ruled over the city of 
Athens for a great number of years, and performed 
many brave deeds.. The Athenians had never before 
had such a noble hero for their king, and they lived in 
peace and safety, for their enemies feared Theseus and 
did not dare to attack them. It happened once, that in 
sailing along the coast of Asia, Theseus arrived at the 
country of the Amazons, — a nation of warlike women, — ] 
one of whom was standing on the shore when Theseus 
landed. She was so beautiful that he determined to 
carry her off to be his wife, but the Amazons never 
welcomed strangers, and when Theseus went up to her 
she raised her lance, intending to pierce him with it. 
Theseus however was not afraid, and putting his arms 
round the maiden, he carried her off to the ship and 
his comrades rowed away as fast as they could. The 
other Amazons came running down to the shore when 
they heard the cries of their sister, but they could not 
1 See page 125. 




19 i MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

overtake the ship. The Amazon that Theseus had 
carried off was named Hippolyta. At first she was very 
angry with him, but soon she came to love him with all 
her heart and had no wish to go home again. When 
they reached Athens, Hippolyta became the wife of 
Theseus, and the gods sent them a little son whom 
they named Hippolytus. Hippolyta was now queen 
of Athens ; but the Amazons had made up their 
minds to deliver their sister and punish the stranger 
who had run away with her, and they took ship 
and sailed to Greece. It was a strange sight to see 
women with helmets on their heads and shields at their 
sides, managing the vessels ; and when they came to 
Greece every one was afraid of them. They did not 
know who it was that had carried off their sister, so 
they made inquiries ; and when they found it was 
Theseus, they set out for Athens, and assoon as they 
entered his dominions they began to lay waste the corn- 
fields and kill both men and women. Some of the 
people escaped, however, and hastened to the city to 
warn the king that the Amazons were marching towards 
it, and he armed his people and led them out to the 
fight. Then a fierce battle took place, and many of the 
Athenians were killed. Queen Hippolyta stood on the 
wall of the city watching the battle, full of anxiety lest 
Theseus should be killed by the Amazons, and she longed 
so much to help him that at last she armed herself with a 
spear and shield, and went out to take part in the fray. 
The Amazons thought at first that she had come to 
join them, but when they found out what was the real 
state of the case they became furious. They were now 
more angry with her than with Theseus, and they 
hurled theft lances at her till one of them hit her in 



THESEUS. '195 

the breast, and she sank down and died. Theseus was 
standing by her, and when he saw that she was dead, 
he was seized with uncontrollable fury, and he struck 
down one after another of the Amazons until they 
were all killed. It was a great victory, and the first 
that any one had ever gained over the Amazons, but 
Theseus could take no pleasure in it because of the loss 
of Hippolyta. 

There was a nation in Greece called the Lapithae, 
whose king, Pirithoiis, was a brave and noble hero. He 
had heard so much about Theseus that he resolved to 
try whether he was as much of a hero as every one said. 
So he entered his country and stole some cattle and 
carried them away. When Theseus heard of it, he set 
out in pursuit of Pirithoiis, who took no pains to escape 
from him, but rather the contrary, for he had stolen the 
cattle, not for the sake of having them, but because 
he wanted to see what Theseus would be like when he 
was angry. When Theseus overtook him, Pirithoiis 
marvelled at his strength and beauty and at the fire of 
his eyes which were glowing with impatience for the 
fight, and Theseus on his part was so delighted with 
the brave and manly appearance of Pirithoiis that he 
quite forgot that he had been angry with him. 
Pirithoiis went up to him holding out his hand and 
said, ' I will atone for the theft I have committed ; you 
may impose upon me whatever punishment you will.' 
Theseus gave him his hand in return, and said that he 
would impose no punishment, but would rather make 
a sacred friendship with him. They promised each 
other that they would be as brothers, and would always 
be ready to stand by one another, and called upon Zeus 

02 



196 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

to witness their oaths and bless their friendship, and 
then they returned, each to his own country. 

Some time after this, Pirithoiis invited a number of 
guests to celebrate his marriage with a beautiful 
princess, and the most honoured of all the guests was 
Theseus. All the great men among the Lapithae were 
at the wedding, and also the savage Centaurs, who had 
the lower part of their bodies formed like the bodies of 
horses. But when ,he fierce Centaurs became intoxi- 
cated, they tried to run away with the bride of Pirithoiis 
and the other women, and the marriage feast ended in 
a bloody fight. The vessels that had been used at the 
feast served for arms, and they threw goblets, dishes, 
and drinking cups at one another. The Centaurs were 
stronger than the Lapithae, and would certainly have 
gained the victory if the Lapithae had not had the help 
of Theseus, who had brought his iron club with him 
and struck down the Centaurs with it till the dead 
bodies of those whom he had killed lay upon the 
ground in heaps and the few that remained took to 
flight. Then peace was restored, though not before a 
great number of the Lapithae had perished, and Theseus 
returned home, glad that he had been able to give this 
proof of his friendship for Pirithoiis. 

Theseus was always ready to help those who were 
in the right, and as his fame spread far and wide, every 
one who was oppressed came to Athens and stood before 
the Altar of Pity which had been raised in the centre 
of the market-place. Then Theseus inquired iuto his 
case, and if he found that he had been wronged, he 
took care to see that justice was done. This gained for 
him the hatfed of the wicked oppressors, but all those 
who cared for justice honoured and loved him. 



THESEUS. 197 

Theseus had reigned for a long time, and his son 
Hippolytus had grown up to be a man, when he resolved 
to marry again, and asked Minos the king of Crete to 
let him have his daughter Phaedra, the sister of Ariadne, 
for his wife. Minos had long before this forgiven 
Theseus for having killed the Minotaur and carried off 
Ariadne, and he willingly consented to give him his 
younger daughter in marriage. Phaedra was many 
years younger than Theseus and had been quite a child 
when he was in Crete, but she now became queen of 
Athens, and Theseus loved her dearly and did all he 
could to please her. His son, who had been named 
Hippolytus after his mother, did not live at Athens, 
but in Troezen w T ith his grandmother who had brought 
him up since the death of Hippolyta. He was noble 
and virtuous, and he loved the chase and all manly 
pursuits, and honoured, above all other gods and 
goddesses, the huntress-goddess Artemis. Hippolytus 
came one day to Athens on a visit, and when Phaedra 
saw him, she was so dazzled by his youth and beauty 
that she began to love him passionately, and after his 
return she used to spend, many hours every day sitting 
on the city walls and looking towards Troezen. She 
used to take her old nurse there with her, and talk to 
her about Hippolytus, and tell her how willingly she 
would give up honour and riches for his sake. The next 
time Hippolytus came to Athens she had a secret con- 
versation with him, and begged him to flee away and 
take her with him to be his wife. But Hippolytus was 
angry with her for plotting such treachery against his 
father, and he was so shocked at what she had said that 
he mounted his chariot and drove his spirited horses 



198 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

back towards Troezen. Phaedra now hated him for 
having spurned her, and she thought of a plan by which 
she might revenge herself upon him. She went to 
Theseus and told .him with many tears that Hippolytus 
had proposed to her to run away with him and become 
liis wife, and Theseus believed what she told him, and 
he was very, very angry, and said that Hippolytus 
should atone for it with his life. 

Theseus was loved by the gods, and especially by 
Poseidon the sea-god, who had once promised him that 
if ever he prayed to him in any time of trouble, he 
would certainly grant his request, whatever it might 
be. Many years had passed away since then, and 
Theseus had never had so great a desire for anything as 
to think of asking the sea-god for it ; but now that 
Phaedra accused his son of this great crime, he en- 
treated Poseidon to fulfil his dearest wish and cause 
Hippolytus to die immediately. At that moment, 
Hippolytus who was driving along the sea- shore, saw 
the waves suddenly part asunder and a hideous monster 
come out of them, who roared horribly. The frightful 
appearance of the monster and the noise he made, 
rendered the horses quite unmanageable, and Hippo- 
lytus could not hold them in. They ran away with the 
chariot, dragging it over stones and rocks, till at last it 
was upset, and Hippolytus was thrown out and trampled 
to death. The people found his body and brought it 
to Athens, and Theseus knew that Poseidon had granted 
his prayer. But when Phaedra saw the corpse, she was so 
grieved and sick at heart that she went into her sleep- 
ing chamber and hanged herself, and then the old nurse 
told the king the whole truth. When Theseus knew 



THESEUS". 199 

that his innocent son had perished because of his 
virtue, he was quite overcome with grief, and threw 
himself upon the corpse, kissing it and weeping 
passionately, and for many days he shut himself up 
alone in his palace and refused either to eat or drink. 

Theseus thought that the best way of regaining his 
spirits would be to undertake some new exploit which 
would give a fresh turn to his thoughts. The wife of 
Pirithoiis was also dead, and the two heroes determined 
to set out together to seek for two beautiful women 
whom they might carry off to become their wives. 
They had heard, that Tyndareus, the king of Sparta, had 
a lovely daughter named Helena, and they set out for 
Sparta, and reached it just at the time of the festival 
of Artemis. The maidens of the city kept the festival 
by dancing round the altar of the goddess, and Helena 
was among them, and was distinguished from all the 
others by her marvellous beauty. The two heroes 
rushed in among the maidens and seized Helena, and 
when they had carried her off to a place of safety, they 
cast lots for her, to see whose wife she should be. The 
lot fell to Theseus, and he took her to his mother 
Aethra and begged her to take care of the maiden 
until he should return for her, for he wanted to go and 
help his friend also to carry off a wife by force. They 
were so bold as to resolve that they would descend into 
the Land of Shades and steal away the queen of the 
Lower World, although this was an undertaking so daring 
that nothing like it had ever before been attempted by 
any hero. They passed through the chasm which was 
the entrance to the Lower World, and went down far 
below the earth till at last they reached the Land of 



200 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

Shades. They were now very tired, and as they ex- 
pected to have a hard struggle before they could get 
possession of the queen, they thought they would rest 
a little first, and sat down on a stone which they saw 
near them. But when they wanted to get up again, 
they found that they had stuck fast to the stone and 
could not move. The king of the Lower World, who 
knew for what purpose they had dared to come into his 
dominions, had prevented their getting up again, and he 
punished them by obliging them to sit there for ever. 

So the two heroes were kept prisoners in the Lower 
World ; and meanwhile, the brothers of Helena, whose 
names were Castor and Pollux, set out to free their 
sister. Their mother was the beautiful Leda, wife of 
King Tyndareus, who was sitting one day by 'the 
river bank when a snow-white swan came sailing by. 
Leda was charmed with his beauty and called him to 
come to her, and the swan came on shore and embraced 
her. It was not a real swan however, but Zeus, who 
loved the beautiful Leda, and had come to her in this 
form. Some time after this, Leda had four children ; 
there were two large eggs, and out of each egg there 
came a little boy and a little girl. Two of them were 
the children of Zeus, and their names were Pollux 
and Helena ; the other two were called Castor and Cly- 
taemnestra. When they grew up, the two brothers, 
Castor and Pollux, became glorious heroes. No one 
understood so well how to tame wild horses as' Castor, 
and no one was so skilled in wrestling as Pollux. 1 They 
were also kind and gentle, and loved one another so 
dearly that they shared everything, and they performed 
1 See page 157. 



THESEUS. 201 

many heroic deeds together, and won great fame. But 
in the course of time, Castor died and passed into the 
Lower World, where he became an unthinking shade. 
Pollux did not die, for it was decreed that as he was a 
son of Zeus he should become immortal and live among 
the gods. But his immortality was a burden to him, 
for he could not bear to live without his brother, and 
he begged his father Zeus to grant, them both the same 
fate, so that they might either be both in Olympus or 
both in the Lower World. Zeus was pleased at their love 
for one another, and he said that they should both be 
in Olympus one day and both be in the Lower World 
on the alternate day, and thus they should always 
remain together. The two brothers were named the 
Dioscuri, or the children of Zeus, and two bright stars 
which stand close to one another in the sky are named 
after them. 

At the time however when Theseus carried off 
Helena, the brothers were still alive and in the first 
bloom of their youth. They set out with their com- 
panions for Athens, thinking that Theseus must have 
taken their sister to his capital; but when they 
reached it they were told that he had gone away on 
an adventurous enterprise, and the Athenians took a 
solemn oath that the maiden was not within their walls. 
The brothers asked w T here she was hidden, and one of 
the citizens who knew, told them ; then they went 
away without doing any harm to any one, and marched 
to Troezen, where they compelled Aethra to let them 
take their beautiful sister home with them. 

Theseus and Pirithous sat upon the stone for many 
years, until the time came when Heracles was com- 



202 MYTHS OP HELLAS. 

manded by Eurystheus to descend into the Lower World 
and fetch up the three-headed dog Cerberus. 1 When 
the captive heroes saw him, they called to him and told 
him of their trouble, and begged him to help them. 
Then Heracles seized the hand of Theseus with such 
a mighty grasp that the stone was compelled to leave 
go and allow him to get up. He next seized hold of 
Pirithoiis, but at that moment the earth quaked, and 
fearful sounds were heard which signified that the gods 
would not grant freedom to Pirithoiis, but doomed him 
to sit upon the stone for ever, because he had presumed 
to desire the queen of the Lower World for his wife. 

So Theseus was obliged to leave his friend in the 
Land of Shades, and he took leave of him and returned 
to the Upper World ; but in the meanwhile his hair had 
turned grey, and his appearance had become very much 
altered. Now while he was a prisoner in the Lower 
World, a mischief-making person had been telling the 
people that their king spent all his time in going about 
on daring expeditions, and was of no use to his subjects ; 
so when Theseus came back to Athens, he found that 
the people had no longer any affection or esteem for 
him. He would not live amongst those who did not 
make him welcome, and he left his country and got 
into a ship and sailed to the island of Scyros. Part of 
the island belonged to a king named Lycomedes, but 
the rest of it belonged to Theseus, and he had resolved 
to spend the remaining days of his life there, so he 
went to the king and told him so. The king was by 
no means pleased, for he was a cowardly man and he 
thought that Theseus would not leave him in peaceful 
'. See page 1135. 



THESEUS. 203 

possession of his share, but would make himself king of 
the whole island. He pretended, however, to welcome 
Theseus, and said that he would take him to a moun- 
tain where he would have a view T of the whole country. 
They both climbed up the mountain, which had a steep 
precipice on one side of it, and when Theseus was pre- 
occupied in looking at the country, Lycomedes got 
behind him and pushed him over the cliff. Theseus died 
from the great fall, and thus the strong hero lost his life 
at the hands of one cowardly man. They found his body 
lying at the foot of the precipice with the bones broken, 
and they buried him in the island. 

Many years passed away, and the age of the heroes 
and the sons of the gods had quite gone by, when the 
Athenians sent one day to the Oracle at Delphi to 
inquire of the Pythia about the future. The Pythia 
told them that they had better fetch the bones of 
Theseus from Scyros and keep them in their city, 
because these bones w T ould prove a great blessing to 
them. The Athenians did not fail to attend to this 
direction, and they sent ships to the island of Scyros, 
where a great many Athenians lived, to seek for the 
bones of Theseus and bring them home. But no one 
could tell them where the grave of the hero was, for 
during that long time it had been forgotten. They 
went all over the island seeking for it, and at last it 
was revealed to them by a sign from heaven : a mighty 
eagle swooped down on to a hill and pecked the ground 
many times with his beak, then he soared up again and 
disappeared among the clouds. The Athenians dug 
into the hill and found a coffin containing bones much 
larger than the bones of the men of that time, and 






204 MYTHS OP HELLAS. 

there was also a sword and spear in the same coffin. 
They knew by the sign that had been given them from 
heaven that these were the bones of Theseus, and they 
carried the coffin to their finest ship and sailed home 
with it. The ship was beautifully adorned with garlands 
and streamers, and when it reached Athens the citizens 
put on their best clothes and came out to meet it, sing- 
ing and playing on the flute, just as if it were Theseus 
himself who was returning to his country. They buried 
his bones in the middle of the city, and consecrated the 
spot as a Eefuge or place of safety : if, for example, a 
slave were pursued by his master and he could succeed 
in reaching the tomb of Theseus, the master had no 
longer any right to touch him. In this manner the 
Athenians honoured the memory of Theseus, who during 
his lifetime had always been so ready to take the part 
of the weak against the strong. They also came in 
time to look upon him as a god, and offered sacrifices 



to bim. 



205 



XXIX. • 

OEDTPUS. 

There was once a king of Thebes called Laius, and he 
had a wife whose name was Jocasta. There was also a 
soothsayer in Thebes, who said that if the queen had 
a son it would be a great misfortune, for that when he 
grew up, he would kill his father and marry his mother. 
Some time afterwards the queen had a little son, a 
strong child with bright merry eyes; but Laius de- 
termined to kill it in order to prevent the prediction 
of the soothsayer from coming true, and he told one of 
his servants to take the little child to a mountain called 
Cithaeron, which was covered with forests, and leave it 
there to be devoured by wild beasts; but before he sent 
it away, the king tied a string tightly round its ankles, 
which made the little feet swell. The servant did as 
he was told, and left the child lying in the forest. But 
it happened that the cattle of Polybus, the king of 
Corinth, were at that time pasturing on the mountain, 
and one of the herdsmen who was in charge of them, 
chanced, in searching for a cow that had gone astray, 
to go through the forest and to pass by the spot where 
the child of King Laius had been left to perish. He 
was sorry for the poor little thing, and he took it up 
and untied the string round its feet, and laid cooling 



20G MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

herbs upon the sore places. King Polybus and his wife 
had no child, though they wished very much for one, 
and the herdsman, who knew this, thought that they 
might like to have the little stranger to bring up as 
their own son. He took the beautiful little boy to 
Corinth and showed him to the king and queen, who 
were very much pleased, and they said they would keep 
him for their own, and told the herdsman not to let 
any one know that he had found him in the forest. So 
Laius thought that his child had been devoured by 
wild beasts, while the Corinthians thought that the gods 
had granted the wish of their queen and had sent her 
a child, and nobody, not even the king and queen 
themselves, knew that he was the son of Laius and 
Jocasta. The child's feet were still swollen when he 
was brought to Corinth, so they called him Oedipus, 
which means Swollen-Foot. 

Oedipus grew up to be brave and strong, and the king 
and queen, who were very fond of him, treated him just 
as if they were his real parents and never told him 
that he had not been born in Corinth. When he was 
a young man, he went one day to Delphi to ask the 
Oracle what would happen to him, and the priestess 
answered, ' You will kill your father and marry your 
mother.' Oedipus shuddered, and resolved to leave 
Corinth at once that he might never fulfil such a 
horrible prediction. He ordered his chariot, and let his 
horses take whichever road they pleased, for he did not 
care where he went, so long as it was away from Corinth. 
By-and-by he came to a strange country, and found 
himself in a narrow lane where there was not even 
room for two chariots to pass one another, and whilst 



OEDIPUS. 207 

he was still in this narrow lane, he met a king who was 
coming in his chariot from the opposite direction. The 
king commanded Oedipus to stand aside and let him 
pass in such a haughty manner that Oedipus refused to 
obey him, and after they had exchanged some angry 
words, they seized their arms, and Oedipus before long 
struck the king a deadly blow. The king was Laius, 
the father of Oedipus, and thus apart of the Oracle was 
already fulfilled ; but Oedipus did not know this, and he 
did not feel at all sorry for having killed the stranger, 
as it was he who had begun the quarrel. He went on 
through Greece and accomplished many brave deeds, 
and after some time he came to the neighbourhood of 
Thebes, where he heard a strange story indeed. 

On the mountain near Thebes, there was a monster 
called the Sphinx, who could speak. She devoured 
both men and cattle, and no one had been able to over- 
come her. She asked every one who came near her a 
riddle which she had learnt from the Muses, who are 
the goddesses of song, and she devoured every one who 
could not answer it ; but it had been decreed by fate 
that if any one should ever succeed in guessing it, she 
would be obliged to throw herself down from the moun- 
tain and die. Many people had already tried to do so, 
but they had all failed and had been devoured by the 
Sphinx m consequence, so that no one else would 
attempt it, and there was no end to the misery in the 
land. The Thebans met together to consider what 
could be done, and they agreed that if any one would 
answer the riddle and deliver the city from the monster, 
he should, as a reward, be made king of Thebes, and 
have Jocasta for his wife. King Laius had been found 



208 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

dead in the narrow lane some time before, but it was 
not known who had killed him. 

When Oedipus heard that the Thebans had agreed 
to give the kingdom to any one who would deliver them 
from the Sphinx, he said to himself, ' I dare not return 
to my father's country, and I will therefore seek to win 
a kingdom for myself,' for he still thought that his father 
was the king of Corinth. So he set out for the moun- 
tain where the Sphinx lived. She was like a gigantic 
lioness, with a woman's head, andj)owerful wings grow- 
ing out of her shoulders, and all round her lay the bones 
of the men whom she had devoured. It was a horrible 
sight, but Oedipus was not afraid, and he desired her 
to tell him the riddle. Then she began to sing, ' There 
is a creature of wondrous kind ; at first it goes on four 
legs, then on two, and at last it uses three. There is 
none like it among all those that walk on the earth, or 
swim in the water, or fly in the air.' Oedipus put his 
hand to his forehead and thought for a while. Then it 
came into his mind that as a little child, man crawls 
about on four legs, and that in his old age he uses a 
stick, which is just like a third leg, and he said, ' The 
wonderful creature is man.' As soon as the words had 
passed his lips, the Sphinx threw herself from the 
mountain, and fell down dead into the valley below. 
The Thebans, who were watching from the city, saw 
what happened, and they came out to meet Oedipus 
with shouts of joy. They hailed him as their king and 
led him into the palace, and on the same day he was 
married to Queen Jocasta. Thus he became the hus- 
band of his mother, and the whole of the prophecy was 
fulfilled. But he did not know this, and was very happy. 



OEDIPUS. 209 

He lived in great riches, and to all seeming, in great 
honour, so that there was no one who did not look upon 
him as a very fortunate man. 

Many years had passed away, when there came a 
messenger to Thebes to tell Oedipus that King Polybus 
was dead, and to beg him to return to Corinth and be 
king of the city. But Oedipus would not return there 
on account of the Oracle, for though King Polybus, 
whom he believed to be his father, was dead, the queen 
vas still alive, and he feared that some madness might 
>3me over him and make him desire to marry his 
mother. ' He told this to the messenger, who, as it 
happened, was the old herdsman who had found Oedipus 
in the forest when he was a child ; and he, thinking to 
do the king a great service, told him in return that he 
was not the son of Polybus, but a strange child who 
had been found on Mount Cithaeron with his feet tied 
together by a string. As soon as Jocasta heard this, 
she knew that Oedipus must be her son, and when he 
began to inquire about his father, he found that he 
must have been the king whom he had killed in the 
narrow lane. All his prosperity and all his happiness 
had now left him at a single blow, and there was not 
a man in Thebes who did not consider himself better 
off than the king. He was so wretched that he put 
out his own eyes because he could not bear to face the 
contemptuous looks of the Thebans ; and as for Jocasta, 
she went into her bedchamber and hanged herself. 

The Greeks believed that the presence of any one 
who had committed a great crime, even though he had 
done so unintentionally, made them unholy and brought 
misfortune upon them, and on account of this, the 

p 



210 MYTHS OF IT ELLAS. 

Thebans resolved to banish. Oedipus from their city. He 
had two sons who were strong youths and might have 
protected their father if they bad cbosen, but they 
would not interfere, because they wanted to rule over 
tbe city themselves. The blind king was led out 
of the city, but when be came to the gate he turned 
round and prayed to the gods to punish his sons. He 
would have been left quite alone to stumble over every 
stone that lay in bis patb, if it had not been for one of 
his daughters, who resolved to share his misery, and who 
left the beautiful palace in order to take care of her 
unhappy father in his distress. She was bis eldest 
daughter, and her name was Antigone. She and 
Oedipus wandered from place to place, living on the 
food that kind people threw to them, and their couch at 
night was often beneath the blue sky with a hard stone 
for their pillow, for the people were afraid to allow the 
blind king to come into their houses, because of the 
crimes that he had committed. Antigone suffered from 
hunger and cold, and her feet were torn and bleeding 
from the thorns, but she did not think much about 
that, it was the misery of her father that pierced her 
heart. 

After they had wandered for many years, they came 
at last to Athens where Theseus, who was always willing 
to help those who were in trouble was then king. In 
the middle of the city was the Altar of Pity which he 
had erected, 1 and Oedipus seated himself on one of the 
steps of the altar as a sign that he sought for help. 
Then Theseus came and asked who he was, and when 
he heard his name, instead of turning away from him 
1 See page 196. 



OEDIPUS. 211 

with a shudder as every one else did, he took him by 
the hand and led him into the palace, where he and 
Antigone lived during the rest of his life. Before long, 
however, Oedipus died, and his body was solemnly 
burnt by the Athenians, for the Oracle said that they 
must take great care of his ashes, which would prove a 
blessing to the city. 



P2 



212 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 



XXX. 

THE SEVEN AGAINST THEBES. 

The sons of Oedipus were twins, and their names 
were Eteocles and Polynices. When their father was 
banished from Thebes they succeeded to the kingdom, 
and agreed that they would each reign in turn for one 
year. Eteocles had his turn first ; but he found it so 
pleasant to be king that when the year came to an end 
he refused to give up the sovereignty and drove his 
brother from the city. Polynices was now an exile ; but 
he determined that he would take no rest till he had 
found some friends who would promise to help him to 
revenge himself upon his brother. He set out for Argos, 
where King Adrastus lived, and arrived there after dark 
one evening. In the darkness he happened to jostle 
against another hero who was also going into the palace, 
and from angry words they soon came to blows, and 
drew their swords to fight one another. King Adrastus 
heard the clash of arms from within the palace, and he 
took a torch and went out to see what was the matter. 
He commanded the heroes to stop fighting, and asked 
them what they wanted. Then Polynices explained 
how he had been driven away from his country by his 
brother, and how he hoped that the king would help 



THE SEVEN AGAINST THEBES. 213 

him to claim his rights. The other hero, whose name 
was Tydeus, had been driven from his country on 
account of a murder that he had committed uninten- 
tionally, and he had come to request the king to help 
him to return home again. Whilst the heroes were 
speaking, the king saw by the light of the torch the 
shining brazen figures upon their shields. The Greek 
heroes used to wear various kinds of devices on their 
shields by which they could be recognised, such as ser- 
pents, griffins, eagles, and so forth. Now, on the shield 
of Polynices there was a lion, and on that of Tydeus a 
boar's head, and when Adrastus saw these, he remem- 
bered that once when he had asked the Oracle to whom 
he should give his two daughters in marriage, the Oracle 
had replied, ' To a lion and a wild boar.' Adrastus had 
not' understood the answer at the time, but he now per- 
ceived that it must have referred to the two heroes, and 
he therefore received them kindly, and said that he 
would give them his daughters in marriage, and restore 
them to their homes. The wedding soon took place, 
and Tydeus was married to the elder daughter, and 
Polynices to the younger. 

The king said that he would first help Polynices, 
and he assembled his soldiers, and summoned several 
brave heroes to march with them. Three heroes, 
Capaneus, Hippomedon, and Parthenopaeus, promised 
to do so, which made six with the king and his two 
sons-in-law. There was another hero in Argos, named 
Amphiaraus, who was very wise and could foretell the 
future, and the king did not like going to war unless he 
went too, for he was not only brave and fearless, but he 
always gave good counsel. But when Adrastus srtmmono 1 



2H ■ MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

him to march against Thebes, he said he would not go, 
for he knew that they would not conquer the city, but 
would all perish excepting Adrastus, who would return 
alone. Amphiaraus knew this because he could see into 
the future, but the others did not believe what he said 
and thought he was afraid of going to the war, and 
Capaneus, who was a very headstrong man, said, ' If the 
gods themselves should declare against the expedition, 
I am resolved to conquer the city in spite of them.' 
Even Adrastus did not believe that the war would end 
unhappily, and he said so to Amphiaraus, and pressed 
him to accompany them. At last it was agreed that 
Eriphyle, the wife of Amphiaraus, who was also the 
sister of Adrastus, should decide the matter. There 
had once been a bitter quarrel between Amphiaraus and 
Adrastus which had led to their taking arms against 
each other, and when peace was restored, they had 
agreed that if ever any dispute should again arise 
between them, Eriphyle should decide about it, and 
that whatever she determined should be done. So 
now Eriphyle had to decide about the going to war. 
Amphiaraus foresaw that Polynices would try to bribe, 
her and he warned her to take no present from him, 
and she promised to obey. But Polynices came to her 
secretly with a beautiful necklace and veil, and said 
that he would give them to her if she would decide 
that Amphiaraus should go to the war. These were no 
ordinary ornaments, but had been given by the god 
Hephaestus to Cadmus and Harmonia when they cele- 
brated their marriage in the Cadmea, 1 and had been 
handed down from father to son in the royal family of 
i See page 58, 



THE SEVEN AGAINST THEBES. 215 

Thebes, till they had been worn, last of all, by Queen 
Jocasta. When Eriphyle saw the glittering necklace 
and the snow-white veil, she could not overcome her 
desire to possess them, and although she knew quite 
well that if she counselled war it would cost her husband 
his life, she promised to do so ; and when the heroes 
came together to hear her decision, she said, i Amphiaraus 
shall go to the war.' Amphiaraus knew that she must have 
been bribed by Polynices, but he did not dare to make 
any further difficulty, and accordingly prepared to set 
out ; but before he left the city he called aside his two 
sons, who were still young boys, and told them that 
when they were grown up they were to kill their 
mother because she had decided upon his death. 

There were thus seven princes who set out to march 
against Thebes, and they were accompanied by a goodly 
band of soldiers, and all except Amphiaraus were merry 
and in good spirits, for they did not know that they 
were marching to their death. It was a long journey 
to Thebes, and they had to travel for several days before 
they came in sight of it. One day, as they were 
approaching the city of Nemea, they had to pass 
through a forest where they met a woman carrying a 
young child in her arms. The woman was a servant of 
King Lycurgus, who ruled over the city of. Nemea, and 
it was his child that she was taking care of. Her name 
was Hypsipele, and her home was in the island of 
Lemnos, where she had once been a queen herself. 1 
The women of Lemnos had killed all the men in the 
island and formed a kingdom composed entirely of 
women, and they had made a law that any woman who 
1 See page 153. 



216 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

should spare even her husband or son and not kill him, 
should be severely punished. But Hypsipele loved her 
old father too dearly not to be willing to brave the 
punishment, and she kept him alive secretly, and used 
to take him food and talk to him when the others were 
asleep. This went on for a great many years, but at last 
the other women found it out, and then they killed the 
old father, and sold the queen as a slave to some pirates 
who happened to be sailing past the island at the time. 
The pirates sold her again in Nemea, and this was how 
she came to be the slave of King Lycurgus, and the 
nurse of his child. The heroes were very thirsty, for 
it was just then mid-day, and they asked Hypsipele 
if she knew of a spring where they could quench their 
thirst. She told them that farther down in the valley 
there was a spring of beautiful clear water, and said 
that she would show them the way to it. The child 
was frightened at their shining armour and clanging 
weapons, so she left it playing on the grass, and went 
alone with the men. They soon reached the spring and 
quenched their thirst, and then they returned to the 
place where they had left the child. But the child was 
gone, and on a tree close by, there sat a great ugly 
serpent who had eaten him up. The serpent was soon 
punished for his wickedness, for one of the heroes 
pierced him through and through with his lance and 
killed him, but Hypsipele wept and sobbed, for she felt 
sure that King Lycurgua would kill her. The heioes 
were very sorry for her, and they went with her to 
Nemea in the hope that they might be able to save her 
from being punished. King Lycurgus thought at first 
that they were enemies who were ccming to attack the 



THE SEVEN AGAINST THEBES. 217 

city, but Adrastus explained why they had come, and 
begged him not to be angry with Hypsipele, as it was 
really they who were the cause of the child's death. 
Lycurgus was very sorrowful at hearing about it, so the 
heroes tried to comfort him, and said that they would 
honour his child as no child had ever been honoured 
before, by celebrating magnificent funeral games over 
its tomb. They took the child out of the snake's body 
and burnt it on a pyre, and then they put the ashes into 
a beautiful urn and buried them and heaped up a mound 
over them. After this they held games near the mound, 
and vied with each other in all kinds of sports such as 
heroes take pleasure in. Such games as these were at 
that time only celebrated in memory of rich and famous 
kings, and Lycurgus thanked the heroes for honouring 
his child in this manner. From that time games were 
celebrated every third year at Nemea, which were called 
the Nemean Games, and were famed far and wide. 
Numbers of people came to them from all countries, 
and whoever did best in any trial of skill received a 
crown as a prize. 

When the funeral festivities were at an end, the 
heroes took leave of Lycurgus, who promised that for 
their sake he would not do any harm to Hypsipele. 
Amphiaraus warned them once again that they had 
better return home, and said that the death of the child 
was a bad omen. But when the gods meant to let 
misfortune overtake people, they blinded their eyes and 
prevented them from listening to any warning or good 
counsel, and thus the heroes rejected the advice of 
Amphiaraus, and continued their march. After some 
days they came to a mountain from which they could 



218 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

see Thebes in the distance, and there they halted and 
held a council, at which it was resolved that before they 
began the war, Tydeus should go to Thebes and tell 
Eteocles that he had better give up the kingdom to his 
brother peaceably, for if he did not, the Argives would 
take possession of the city by force. Tydeus set out for 
Thebes, and finding the Theban heroes at a banquet, he 
delivered his message to them there/ Eteocles answered 
that he hated his brother and would rather die than 
share the kingdom with him, and that he was not 
afraid of the Argives, but was quite ready to fight them. 
On hearing this, Tydeus prepared to return to the camp, 
but as Eteocles asked him to stay and feast with him, 
he accepted the invitation, and they talked together in 
a friendly manner as host and guest, although they 
were just going to meet one another in deadly conflict. 
In those days when heroes met they always took the 
opportunity of vying with one another in feats of 
strength, and so when the banquet was over, Tydeus 
challenged the Thebans to wrestle with him. First 
one presented himself, and then another, but Tycleus 
was stronger than any of them, and overcame them all. 
The Thebans were ashamed of themselves and furious 
with Tydeus, and they placed an ambush of fifty 
youths in a copse not far from the city, who rushed out 
and fell upon him as he was returning home. It was 
an unequal struggle, but Tydeus killed them all except 
one, who fled back into the city and told the Thebans 
what had become of the others, and then they wondered 
still more at the extraordinary strength of Tydeus. 

When the princes understood that Eteocles would 
not give up the kingdom peaceably, they led their army 



THE SEVEN AGAINST THEBES. 219 

against the city in order to get possession of it by force. 
The gates were fastened with strong bars, and on the 
walls stood the Thebans in arms, prepared to beat off 
the enemy. There were seven gates in the walls of 
the city, and Adrastns allotted one gate to each of the 
princes to attack with his band of followers. The 
Thebans, on their side, had also placed the seven gates 
under the special charge of their seven most valiant 
heroes, each of whom had a band of men to fight under 
him. Then a fierce battle took place, — the Argives 
tried to scale the walls by means of ladders, and hurled 
javelins and arrows at their enemies, while the Thebans 
rolled great stones to the top of the walls, and just 
when there were a number of Argives upon one of the 
ladders and they were hoping that in another moment 
they would have gained possession of the wall, the 
Thebans let fall a huge stone, which broke the ladder 
and crushed to death all those who were upon it. 
Capaneus was the most impetuous of all the Argives, 
and wherever he fought the Thebans gave way before 
him. He set up a ladder against the wall and had 
climbed almost to the top of it, when, thinking that 
the city was already in his hands, he looked up at the 
sky and cried out in a mocking tone, ' The strength of 
heroes is mightier than the will of the gods.' But as 
the presumptuous hero raised his foot to place it upon 
the wall, there came a flash of lightning which destroyed 
him in a moment, and the Thebans, who were inspired 
by this with fresh courage, drove back the band of 
soldiers that he had been leading. All day long the 
Argives fought against the city, but at last the sun went 
down, and they were obliged to give over for the time. 



220 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

The next day Eteocles ascended a tower, and took# 
with him a herald whom he caused to make a proclama- 
tion to the Argives in the following words : 4 Ye heroes 
of Argos, Eteocles offers "to fight alone with Polynices, 
on the understanding that whichever of them gets the 
better of the other shall be king of Thebes.' Polynices 
on his part was also eager to fight with his brother, and 
readily accepted the challenge to single combat. Then 
the Thebans came and sat upon the city walls to watch . 
the fight ; and the Argives outside the city planted their 
spears in the ground by their side, thinking they would 
have no more use for them. Between the two armies 
was a field, where the brothers were to engage in 
the deadly struggle. As each of them took his shield 
and sword from his friends, he eyed the other angrily, 
longing to begin the fight, and as soon as they were 
armed they both rushed at one another, each of them 
so intent on killing his brother that he forgot to cover 
himself with his shield. And thus, at the same moment, 
each of the brothers ran his spear through the body, of 
his opponent, and they both sank down dead. But this 
did not end the quarrel, for the two armies rose up, 
each desirous of avenging the death of its champion 
upon the enemy, and a fierce battle took place. Zeus 
gave the victory to the Thebans, and all the Argives, — 
heroes and followers alike, — were slain : and thus the 
prophecy of Amphiaraus was fulfilled. As for the seer 
himself, he was standing in his war-chariot, urging on his 
horses that he might not be overtaken by the enemy, 
when a Theban hero pursued him hotly and gained 
steadily upon him till he had almost come up with 
him. But Zeus, who loved Amphiaraus, hurled a 



THE SEVEN AGAINST THEBE5 221 

thunder-bolt which clove the ground asunder in front 
of him, and he sank far down into the earth. It closed 
over him before the eyes of his pursuer who was thus 
unable to reach him, and Zeus granted him immor- 
tality and took him to live among the gods on Mount 
Olympus. All the rest of the Argives had by this time 
perished, excepting only Adrastus. He had a horse, 
named Arion, who was of divine origin and was swifter 
than any other horse in the world, so when the king 
took to flight, the Thebans could not overtake him, 
and he returned alone to Argos, as Amphiaraus had 
foretold. 

A brother of Jocasta's, whose name was Creon, now 
became king of Thebes, and he commanded that the 
fallen Thebans should be buried with great honour, 
but that Polynices and the Argives should be left un- 
buried on the field of battle, to be food for dogs and 
vultures. The Greeks believed that those whose bodies 
were not buried found no rest in the Lower World, and 
they never offered such an insult as this to the memory 
of any but their most deadly enemies. A herald went 
through the city, proclaiming to the Thebans that 
if any one dared to give burial to Polynices or any of 
the Argives, he would have to answer for it with his 
life. Every one was afraid to disobey excepting one, 
and that one was a woman, — Antigone, the sister of 
Polynices. She had been very angry with her brothers 
for casting off their father Oedipus in his time of need, 
but now that they were dead, she wept for them and 
could not bear that either of them should be dis- 
honoured. So in the night she went tc the field where 
the corpses lay, and sought for that of aer brother. It 



222 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

was disfigured with dust and blood, but she recognised 
it, and she covered it over with loose sand and poured 
out the libations for the dead which consisted of wine, 
milk, and honey, over the mound. When a corpse had 
been covered over in this manner and had received the 
due libations for the dead, the gods accepted it as if it 
had been properly buried, — so that everything that was 
necessary had now been done for the corpse of Poly- 
nices. But Creon had set watchmen round the field to 
catch any one who should come to disobey his orders, 
and just as Antigone had finished her work, the watch- 
men seized her and took her as a prisoner to Creon, 
although they were loth to do this, for every one loved 
the noble maiden. The king was very angry when he 
heard what she had done, but nevertheless, if she would 
have consented to admit that she had done wrong in 
disobeying his orders and to beg for mercy, he would 
have been willing 'to spare her life. But she scorned 
to save her life by such means, and instead of begging 
for forgiveness, she spoke out boldly, and said : ' Higher 
than thy commands do I esteem those laws which set 
before us that which is noble and right.' Then the 
king was still more angry with her for not being 
afraid of him, and he condemned her to a cruel death. 
There was a cave outside the city, and the king com- 
manded that she should be shut up there and left to 
die of hunger. Her friends accompanied her as far as 
the cave, weeping bitterly, but Antigone herself shed 
no tears. A pitcher of water and a little bread had 
been placed in the cave, and when Antigone had taken 
leave of her friends, she went inside, and the workmen 
piled up stones against the mouth of the cave and 



THE SEVEN AGAINST THEBES. 223 

walled her in. Thus the noble Antigone died ; but she 
did not wait for the lingering death of starvation, — 
instead of that she made her veil into a noose and 
hanged herself. 

King Adrastus heard with grief and anger that 
Creon had refused to allow the Argives to be buried, 
but as all the heroes of Argos had died in the war and 
there were none but young boys left in the city, he 
was unable to raise an army in order to compel him to 
do so. So he went to Athens with a twig in his hand 
(which it was the custom for those who wanted help to 
carry) and seated himself on the steps of the Altar of 
Pity. 1 Theseus came and asked what he wanted, and 
Adrastus told him of his misfortune and begged him 
to procure an honourable burial for the Argives. When 
Theseus heard about it all, he was very sorry for him, 
and he marched to Thebes at the head of a band of 
heroes, and said that unless Creon at once counter- 
manded his wicked orders, he would destroy the city. 
Creon was afraid of Theseus, so he granted all that he 
required, and the heroes were buried with due honours. 

1 See page 196. 



224 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 



XXXT. 

THE EPIGONI. 

King Adrastus never ceased to grieve over his heroes 
who had been slain by the Thebans, and when ten years 
had gone by. and the boys who were then qnite young 
had grown up to be men, he assembled them and pro- 
posed to them to march against Thebes in order to 
avenge their fathers. They were quite ready to do 
this, for they were true heroes, with strong arms and 
brave hearts. Each of the seven heroes who had 
accompanied Adrastus on the former expedition had 
left a son, and these young men were called the Epi- 
goni, or i Those who come after.' They chose a strong 
band of followers from among the youths of Argos, and 
when they were all armed in readiness for the war, they 
sent to the Oracle at Delphi to ask whom they should 
take for their leader, for Adrastus was now too old and 
grey to head them himself. The Oracle said that they 
had better choose the son of Amphiaraus, who was 
named Alcmaeon, and who was wise and brave. Adras- 
tus was full of joy at seeing the army of young men 
set out on its march, and trusted that the gods would 
give them, the victory. The Epigoni took the .same 
road by which their fathers had gone ten years before, 



THE EPIGONI. 225 

but instead of meeting with bad omens on the way, 
everything was now most prosperous. 

Creon was by this time dead, and the son of Eteoeles, 
whose name was Laodamas, was king of Thebes. When 
he heard that the Epigoni were coming to avenge their 
fathers, he armed the citizens and marched out to meet 
them, and a battle took place in front of the city gates, 
in the very same field where the heroes who accom- 
panied Adrastus had fallen. The Epigoni thought of 
their fathers and fought the more bravely, and though 
the Thebans held their ground steadily at first, their 
courage gave way after their king, Laodamas, had been 
slain by Alcmaeon, and they fled back into the city. 
The Epigoni encamped before Thebes, saying that they 
would not raise the siege until they had conquered it, 
and the Thebans meanwhile held counsel as to how 
they might best save themselves from their vengeance. 
Among them was the blind seer, Tiresias, who had long 
ago foretold to Laius that if a child were born to him, 
he would sin against both his father and mother. He 
was now very old, with hair as white as snow, and he 
had lived through all the prosperity and all the calami- 
ties of the Thebans, and was greatly honoured by them, 
so they went to him to ask his advice as to what they 
had better do. He said that they could only hope to 
save their lives by artifice, and told them how to set to 
work. According to his directions they sent a herald 
the next day to the Epigoni, to announce that the 
Thebans were willing to make some atonement for the 
slaughter of their fathers. The Epigoni did not suspect 
any trick, and began to negotiate with the herald as to 
what form the atonement should take, without per- 

Q 



226 . MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

ceiving what was going on in the city. Bnt meanwhile 
the Thebans were pouring out of it on the further side 
and taking with them whatever they regarded as the 
most precious of their possessions, and they suc- 
ceeded in carrying off, not only their children, but 
also a good deal of treasure. When the Epigoni had 
announced what they would demand as an atonement, 
the herald returned to the city ; but he only entered it 
by one gate in order to pass out on the further side by 
the gate through which the Thebans had fled, and he 
was not long in overtaking them. Tiresias had accom- 
panied the Thebans, led by a boy ; on the way he asked 
for something to drink, and the' boy took him to a cool 
spring, but as soon as he had tasted the water he 
sank down and died. The Thebans buried him by the 
roadside, and then they marched on till they came to 
a strange land, where they built another city. 

Meanwhile a day went by, and then - another, and 
still the Epigoni waited for the herald to return. But 
when two days had passed without any further sign of 
him, and no one appeared upon the city walls, neither 
was there any smoke to be seen rising from the houses, 
they began to suspect that the Thebans had fled. 
They climbed over the walls without any resistance 
and entered the city, but they found no one there. 
There was, however,- a great deal of treasure in the 
houses, for the Thebans had not been able to carry 
everything away with them, and the heroes took an 
enormous booty. They chose out the best things and 
sent them to Delphi as a present to Apollo, and the 
remainder they divided among themselves. They made 
Thersander, the son of Polynices, king of Thebes, and 



THE EPIGCLNI. . 227 

proclaimed that those among the Argives who chose 
to remain in Thebes instead of returning home with 
Alcmaeon might settle there and have portions of the 
land assigned to them for their own. Many people 
from the neighbourhood came also into the city with 
their wives and children, so that before long all the 
houses were once more inhabited. Alcmaeon led back 
the remainder of the Argives to their own homes, for 
the Epigoni had now avenged their fathers, and had 
won for themselves glory and renown. 

Alcmaeon now remembered the oath that he had 
once sworn to his father, before he set out with the 
other princes to march against Thebes. Amphiaraus 
had then made both his sons swear that they would 
avenge him upon Eriphyle for having allowed herself 
to be bribed by the veil and necklace to give her voice 
in favour of what she knew would cost him his life. 1 
But it was a hard task for Alcmaeon, for Eriphyle was 
his mother. He did not know what to do, so he went 
to Delphi and asked the Oracle whether he should keep 
his promise to his father or not. The Oracle said yes, 
that he must do this ; and so he returned home and 
killed his mother. When Eriphyle was dying, she 
cursed every country that should shelter her murderer, 
and the curse of the dying mother had such power that 
everything must needs carry it into effect. Alcmaeon 
became mad, and wandered about from one country to 
another till he came to a king named Phegeus, who 
knew how' to purify murderers, and who had compassion 
on him and purged him from the stain of blood. Then 
the madness left him, and he was able to rest once 
1 See p. 215. 
Q 2 



228 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

more. Phegeus gave him his daughter in marriage, 
and said that he should live in his country and have 
an honourable position there. Alcmaeon was very glad 
of this, and he presented the veil and necklace to 
his wife who was very much pleased with them. In 
the spring however, the seed did not come up, which 
caused a dearth throughout the land, — and this was 
owing to the curse of Eriphyle. The king consulted a 
seer about it, and he said that the land would not bear 
fruit so long as Alcmaeon remained in the kingdom. 

So Alcmaeon had to take leave of his wife and quit 
the country, and he set out not knowing whither to go. 
He went to Delphi and asked the Pythia if there was 
any land that could receive him without suffering for it ; 
and she answered that he must go to the river-god Ache- 
loiis and ask him to help him, for that no one else could 
do so. Alcmaeon therefore went to the river and called 
to Acheloiis, who came up out of the water and asked 
what he wanted. Alcmaeon told him of his distress and 
begged for his help, and the river-god took pity on him 
and made his stream bring down sand and silt from the 
heights above, until a new and fruitful country was 
formed by the side of the river ; and as it had not been 
in existence when Eriphyle cursed the land that should 
give her son rest, Alcmaeon was able to remain there, 
and he ploughed and sowed seed, and the earth brought 
forth fruit. Acheloiis had a very beautiful daughter, 
and Alcmaeon became so much attached to her, that 
he was unfaithful to his wife, and married the daughter 
of the river-god. Several years passed by in peace and 
prosperity ; the gods sent them two sons, and Alcmaeon 
had no thought of ever leaving his place of shelter. 



THE EPIGONI 22 ( J 

But the daughter of Acheloiis had heard of the beautiful 
veil and necklace, and she never ceased to beg her hus- 
band to go and fetch them for her, till at last he was 
obliged to yield, and set out for the country of King* 
Phegeus. He did not tell Phegeus the truth how- 
ever, but said that he was still obliged to wander about, 
and could only obtain rest by taking the veil and neck- 
lace to Delphi and dedicating them to Apollo. The 
daughter of Phegeus did not doubt his sincerity, and 
readily parted with the precious ornaments for the sake 
of her husband whom she loved dearly. But before 
Alcmaeon had reached home again, King Phegeus 
heard that he had been unfaithful and had married 
the daughter of Acheloiis, and he was very angry, and 
commanded his sons to go after him and kill him. They 
were wild headstrong youths who delighted in deeds of 
blood, and they overtook Alcmaeon and killed him and 
took away both the treasures. Then they returned home, 
thinking that their sister would rejoice at the vengeance 
that had overtaken her husband ; but though he had 
married another woman, she was very sorry for his death 
and was angry with her brothers for having killed him. 
The daughter of Acheloiis waited long for Alcmaeon 
to return home ; but a good while afterwards, a stranger 
who happened to be passing that way told her that he 
had been put to death by the sons of Phegeus. Then 
it was her greatest wish to avenge his death, and she 
begged Zeus that her two sons might at once become 
grown-up men. In that same night the children grew 
up to be men, and their mother provided them with 
weapons, and told them that their father had been 
murdered by the sons of Phegeus, and that they were 



230 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

to avenge him. They set off for the country of Phegeus, 
but on their way they stopped to rest at the house of a 
prince where it happened that the sons of Phegeus 
were also staying, for they too were on a journey, and 
they had with them the veil and the necklace. The 
young men did not know each other, but as they were 
talking together at the feast, the sons of Phegeus 
brought out the precious ornaments and showed them 
to the others who thus recognised the murderers of 
their father, and they drew their swords and killed 
them. Then they returned home to their mother with 
the precious treasures. But the wise river-god said 
that they were no real treasures, for they brought mis- 
fortune to whoever possessed them ; and he made his 
grandsons carry them to Delphi, and present them as 
an offering to the god Apollo. 



<y>1 



XXXII. 

EROS AND PSYCHE. 

There lived once a king and queen who had three 
daughters. The youngest of them was named Psyche, 
and she was so wonderfully beautiful that when she 
went through the streets, the people threw flowers before 
her and kissed their hands to her, as they used to do 
to the statues of the gods. The only one who did not 
delight in her was the goddess Aphrodite. She was 
accustomed to drive through the city in a chariot 
drawn by doves, and it vexed her to see that the towns- 
people neglected her worship in order to pay homage to 
the lovely Psyche, as if it were she and not Aphrodite 
who was the goddess of beauty. And she called her 
son Eros, who was the god of love, and commanded him 
to cause the princess whom she hated to set her love 
upon the most unworthy of all mortals. 

Not long afterwards the old king asked the Oracle 
to whom he should give his daughter Psyche in marriage, 
and the answer he received was that she must be dressed 
as a bride and led to the top of a rocky cliff that stood 
up high above the city, and that then all her friends 
must say good-bye to her for ever, and leave her there 
alone to be taken^ to the house of the husband ap- 



232 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

pointed for her. And that if he refused to obey the 
Oracle, grievous misfortune would befall him and all his 
household. The king and queen were greatly dis- 
tressed at this sentence, and the whole land mourned 
with them, for why should the Oracle speak so mysteri- 
ously if it did not mean that the appointed husband 
was some horrible monster ? But they were obliged 
to obey, lest some worse misfortune should overtake 
them. Psyche was dressed as a bride and led to the 
rock, in a procession of the citizens. The flutes and 
other musical instruments gave forth joyous sounds ; but 
louder still was heard the sound of mourning and 
lamentation. The grey-haired father and mother wept 
bitterly as they kissed their child for the last time, and 
then the wedding torches were put out, and the pro- 
cession wound sadly and silently back to the city. 

Psyche meanwhile was left alone upon the desolate 
rock ; but very soon a Wind-god came, who seized her in 
his arms and flew through the air with her, till at last 
he put her down in a valley on the further side of the 
hill. Psyche hid her face in her hands at first that she 
might not see the horrible things she expected to find 
all round her ; but when she did venture timidly to open 
her eyes, she could scarcely believe what she saw. She 
found herself seated in a meadow full of flowers, with 
a clear stream running through it, and a wood near by, 
in front of which there stood a most beautiful palace ; 
its roof was supported by pillars of pure gold, and 
its walls were covered with sculptures -wrought in 
silver. Full of astonishment, Psyche rose and went 
towards the palace. As she approached it, she noticed 
that the air was filled with a delicious scent, and when 



EKOS AND PSYCHE. 233 

she entered the palace, she met with some new splendour 
at every step. The rooms were furnished with great 
magnificence, and were rilled with beautiful ornaments 
of gold and silver. Then there fell upon her ear the 
sweet voice of a nymph, which said, ' We are at your 
service, and prepared to carry out your wishes, what- 
ever they may be.' Psyche thought she would like to 
refresh herself with some cool water, and in a moment a 
beautiful bath w T as drawn forward by unseen hands and 
placed before her. After she had bathed and anointed 
herself, she went into the next room where she found 
a table spread with a tempting meal, and all the while 
she was eating, sounds of sweet music were heard and 
songs were sung by unseen nymphs. When Psyche 
had finished, she felt in need of rest, and she lay 
down on a couch and went to sleep. Meanwhile it 
became quite dark, and by-and-by she was awakened 
by a gentle movement, and a sweet voice said to her, 
* I am thy husband, and this house is thine and mine, — 
all its splendours are for thy pleasure, — but never seek 
to see my face, for then I should be obliged to leave 
thee for ever.' The husband remained with her until 
the day was about to dawn, and then he vanished. 

The next day, and each following day, everything 
happened as before : the unseen nymphs waited on 
Psyche and shortened the hours by singing and playing 
to her, and with the darkness came the husband who 
remained in the palace until morning. 

The heart of Psyche was divided between joy and 
sorrow. Her kind husband and the wonders and delights 
of the palace filled her with joy, but tears often came 
to her eyes in thinking of her parents and her play- 



234 MYTHS OF HELLAS, 

fellows. Once when she was looking towards the 
high rock from which' she- had been brought by the 
Wind-god, she saw her two sisters there, and she was 
filled with so great a longing to see them again that 
when next her husband came to her, she begged him 
to send for them. For a moment he hesitated, but 
then he promised to do as she wished, and told her 
also that she might give them anything she liked 
out of the treasures of the palace to take away with 
them as presents ; ' but,' he added, ' take care not to 
let them delude you into making any attempt to see 
my face.' Psyche promised without any misgiving, for 
she felt herself perfectly free from curiosity. 

On the following day when the two sisters again 
appeared on the rock, the Wind-god took them up on 
his shoulders and carried them into the beautiful 
valley. Psyche received them with many embraces, 
and asked them endless questions about her parents 
and play-fellows. Then she led them into the palace 
and desired the music to sound, whilst she showed 
them all the beautiful things. They were dumb with 
amazement, and stood looking at one another; and 
then Psyche asked them to choose whatever they 
liked best to take away with them, for they were 
quite welcome to it. But the two sisters had wicked, 
envious dispositions, and were not pleased that Psyche 
should be so much better off than they were. They 
asked who was her husband, and when she told them 
that he was kind and good, but that she had never 
seen him and that she was forbidden ever to seek to do 
so, they made a sign one to the other, and one of them 
pretended to cry, and said, « Ah, dear sister, it must 



EROS AND PSYCHE. 235 

then be true what the people say. They say that every 
evening a hideous monster is seen to creep into this 
valley,— a horrible serpent with bloody jaws.' And the 
other sister pretended to weep also, and she said, ' When 
he gets to the palace he takes the form of a man ; but 
no doubt his countenance bears the traces of his cruel 
nature, and that is the reason why he will not let you 
look at him. Alas ! only too soon shall we have to 
deplore your miserable death.' 

Psyche was herself so entirely free from falseness 
that she had no suspicion of the treachery of her sisters. 
She was horror-struck at what they said, and though at 
first she refused to believe that the gentle voice she had 
so often heard could come from the jaws of a monster, 
yet they so persisted in tormenting her with their crafty 
speeches, that at last she ended by believing them, and 
w T as only anxious to escape from the dreadful creature. 
When the eldest sister saw this, she said to her, ' There 
is just one means of saving your life. You must summon 
up your courage, and to-night, when the monster is 
asleep, take your lamp in your hand and a sharp knife, 
and go to his couch and pierce him through the heart 
with the knife. 5 She said this because she thought that 
if Psyche disobeyed her husband by looking at him 
when he was asleep, all her happiness would be at an 
end. The two sisters gave Psyche no peace till she had 
made up her mind to do as they said. Then they took 
as many of the treasures of the palace as they could 
carry, and Psyche called to the Wind-god to come and 
take them away again. 

When it was dark, her husband came as usual ; but 
she was afraid of him, and could hardly find a word to 



236 MYTHS 01- HELLAS. 

say in answer to his friendly greeting. And at mid- 
night, when he was fast asleep, she lit a lamp, and taking 
a knife in her hand, went to his conch with the inten- 
tion of killing him. The light fell upon the conch, 
and there she saw, — no monster, but Eros himself, the 
winged god of love, radiant with beauty. The knife 
fell from her hand, and she felt that she could never be 
weary of gazing at his glorious form. But as she bent 
over him she forgot to take care that the lamp in her 
hamd was held straight, and a drop of hot oil was spilt, 
which fell upon his . shoulder and awoke him. He 
opened his eyes and saw Psyche bending over him 
with the lamp in her hand. He looked at her very 
sorrowfully, and said, 6 Thou hast mistrusted me and 
transgressed my command ; my dwelling is no longer 
here. I am Eros, as thou hast discovered. My mother 
Aphrodite is angry with thee, and she commanded me 
to cause thee to love the most unworthy of men. But 
when I saw thee, I was myself filled with love for thee, 
and determined to hide thee from my mother that thou 
mightest be my wife. Only in the deepest secrecy have 
I dared to act against her will. And now thou hast dis- 
obeyed my command, and I must leave thee for ever.' 
When he had said this, he took up his bow and quiver 
which stood by the side of the couch, and flew away. 

Psyche was filled with the bitterest remorse, and 
desired to live no longer. When the day dawned, she 
went to the river and threw herself into it. But the 
river-god was unwilling to kill anything so beautiful, 
and he carried her on the top of his waters to the 
farther shore, and set her down there. The birds were 
chirping in the trees, and the morning sun looked down 






J-KO.s AND PSYCHE. 237 

go pleasantly on the river and the meadows that a ray 
of. hope sprang up in her heart, and she thought, 'How 
if I could succeed in winning him back ? They say 
that he is the kindest of all the gods. I will go all over 
the world seeking him.' So she set out, and took no 
heed of the roughness of the way or of the thorns 
that pierced her feet, and wandered into all corners of 
the world, hoping to find some trace of him. 

After she had wandered for a long time, she came 
to the palace of Aphrodite, and she said to herself, 
'The goddess is indeed angry with me, but is her 
anger mightier than my grief? I will enter her 
service, and it may be that I shall succeed in gaining 
her good will.' So she went into the palace, and 
offered herself as servant to the goddess. Now 
Aphrodite knew that instead of doing Psyche any injury, 
Eros had secretly married her. for a sea-gull that had 
made its nest for a time in the valley had told her 
about it. She felt therefore a grim joy when the 
unhappy girl put herself into her power, and in a 
haughty tone she said to her, ' If your mind is set on 
being beloved by a god, you will have to 'accomplish 
hard tasks, and it will be the worse for you if you fail 
to perform them.' Then she set her the first task. She 
piled up in front of the palace a great heap of seeds, — 
wheat, beans, poppies, and peas, — all mixed together, 
and saying, ' Before night comes all the seeds must be 
sorted,' she went away. Psyche could not have done it 
in ten days. She sat down by -the heap, buried her face 
in her hands, and wept bitterly. But there lived close 
by a great nation of 'ants, and one of them saw the 
beautiful girl crying, and was sorry for her, and called 



238 MYTHS OF HKLLAS. 

the others to come and help her. Then there came an 
endless array of ants, who set to work and soon sorted 
the seeds, though some of them were so large that it 
took four, eight, or even ten ants to roll a single seed 
to its place, and when Psyche looked up, the work was 
done and the ants were marching away again. She 
kissed her hands to them, and thanked them prettily 
for their kindness. When Aphrodite came home in the 
evening and saw the seeds laid out in order, she could 
find no fault with her industrious servant, but she gave 
her a look that was far from friendly, for she would 
much rather have had some excuse for blaming her. 

The next morning she said to Psyche, c There is a 
copse near by, where there graze some sheep with golden 
fleeces. Go and fetch me three tufts of their wool.' Psyche 
set out, and went slowly along the river- side towards the 
wood. On the bank stood some reeds which rustled in 
the morning breeze, and the rustling turned into words 
like these, ' Take care what you do, for the golden- 
fleeced sheep are fierce animals, and their bite is 
poisonous. Wait till mid-day, and then go into the 
copse and look at the bushes.' So said the reeds, and 
then they rustled again as before. Psyche thanked them, 
and sat down by the side of the river until the 
shadows were at their shortest. Then she knew it was 
mid-day, and she went into the copse and found the 
sheep all lying asleep. She trod gently so as not to wake 
them, and looked at the bushes which were covered 
with tufts of golden wool, for the sheep had rubbed 
themselves against the bushes and left part of their 
fleeces sticking to the thorns. Psyche took the three 
best tufts and left the copse. When she came back 



EROS AND FSYCHE. 239 

and gave them to her mistress, Aphrodite was sur- 
prised, for she had expected that Psyche would be 
bitten to death by the fierce sheep. She said to her 
with an angry look, ' You have not yet finished your 
day's work. Take your pitcher and ascend that hill. 
At the top of it there is some black water. Fetch me 
some.' 

Psyche started off obediently with her pitcher. 
When she reached the hill, she saw before her a steep 
path leading up to the spring, but near it we r e two 
dreadful dragons who looked as 'if they would not let 
any one pass them alive. The water was in a dark 
hollow on the further side of the path, and flowed 
deep down into the Lower World. It bubbled angrily 
in the hollow, and called out to Psyche, ' What do you 
want here ? Go away, and be quick about it, or } 7 our 
life is not worth, much.' Psyche put down her pitcher 
and stood still, weeping bitterly. But she had not been 
there long when there appeared a great eagle, which 
circled round her several times and then seized the 
handle of her pitcher in his beak and flew off with it 
to the spring. The dragons howled, and raised them- 
selves as high as they could in the air that they might 
be the better able to shoot out flames at him from their 
mouths, but their fiery breath was powerless to scorch 
him. He came back with the filled pitcher which he 
set down beside. Psyche, and then he spread his wings 
again and had soon disappeared among the clouds. 
Psyche cast a grateful glance after him, took up her 
pitcher, and set out joyfully on her way home. When 
Aphrodite saw her returning, she felt sure that she had 
come with an empty pitcher, for she knew that if she 



240 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

had attempted to pass the dragons they would have 
killed her, and she thought that she would now be able 
to imprison her in a damp dungeon and keep her with- 
out sufficient food or sunshine. But when she looked 
into the vessel, she saw that it was full of the black 
water w T hich Psyche had been desired to fetch. She 
was very "angry, and poured it out upon the ground, for 
it was of no use to her, and began to ponder what task 
she could impose upon Psyche which would bring about 
her death without fail. 

The next morning Psyche was summoned to the 
presence of her harsh mistress, who said to her, ' Take 
this golden casket to the Queen of the Lower World, 
and ask her to send me some of the Salve of Beauty.' 
Psyche left the palace, but she made up her mind that 
she would kill herself at once rather than attempt to 
take the message, for she shuddered at the horrors of 
the Lower World, and moreover she could not hope 
that if she once entered its gates she would ever be 
allowed to come out again. She ascended a high tower 
which was grey with old age, meaning to throw herselt 
down from it ; but as she stood on the top, the stones 
began to utter sounds, and the aged tower said, 'Do 
not despair, I will give_ you good counsel. Go to Mount 
Taenarus, and there you will find a dark chasm that 
leads down to the Lower World. The ferry- man who 
will row you across the river Acheron demands passage 
money ; put two copper coins between your teeth, and 
hold out your mouth to him, so that he may take his 
fare for himself. At the gate of the Land of Shades 
there stands the hideous dog Cerberus. For him take 
a honey-cake in each of your hands, and throw him one 



trios AND PSYCHE 241 

when you go in at the gate, and the other when you 
come out again. And beware of letting either of the 
cakes out of your hand, for then you would find your- 
self imprisoned for ever in the Lower World. Perse- 
phone will fill the casket for you. Do not let anything 
induce you to open it.' Then the tower ceased speak- 
ing, and Psyche resolved to summon her courage and 
undertake the dreadful journey. She put two copper 
coins between her teeth, and taking a honey-cake in 
each hand, she went along the dark road until she 
reached the gloomy twilight of the Lower World. 
Presently she met a lame man, who was driving a lame, 
heavily-laden ass. He w 7 as holding up the burden 
which was falling from off the ass, and he called out to 
Psyche in a piteous voice, begging her to pick up a 
piece of rope from the ground for him that he might 
tie the burden on with it. The tender-hearted Psyche 
found it difficult to refuse, but she could not have done 
what he wanted without neglecting the warning of the 
tower on no account to let go of her honey-cakes ; so 
she passed on without answering, and immediately the 
man and the ass vanished. Psyche -next came to the 
river Acheron, and the surly ferryman Charon rowed 
her over it in his boat after he had taken one of the 
copper coins from her mouth. Close to the boat there 
swam an old man whose appearance was most pitiful, — 
his strength was evidently failing him, and he seemed 
about to sink. He stretched out one of his thin arms 
towards Psyche, and begged her with beseeching 
gestures to hold out her hand to him. But Psyche 
remembered the warning, and immediately the old 
man disappeared. When they reached the further 

u 



242 MYTHS OF HELLAS. 

shore, there sit three old woiien by the road-side 
spinning, who called out to her in a pleasant voice and 
asked her to cut their thread for them. They were nice, 
kind-looking old women, but Psyche remembered the 
warning, and immediately they disappeared as the 
others had done. 

After this, Psyche soon arrived at the gate of the 
Land of Shades, in front of which stood the three - 
headed dog Cerberus. She threw him a cake, and he 
let her go by. Then she saw flitting about her on all 
sides, pale, silent shades, and she was seized with horror, 
but she overcame it, and went on bravely to the palace 
of Queen Persephone and delivered her message. 
Persephone filled the box and gave it back to her. The 
fierce dog let her pass out when she gave him the 
second honey-cake, Chyron took the second coin out 
of her mouth and rowed her back across the river, and 
at last she found herself in the sunshine once more. 
She was very tired and sat down on a stone to rest a 
little, and she thought to herself, ' I have gone through 
the horrors of the Lower World, and have fulfilled the 
command of the cruel goddess. But will she give me 
any thanks for it ? ' For some time she sat buried in 
sad thoughts ; then she said, ' How if I were to open 
the casket and test the power of the wonderful salve ? 
Perhaps it would give me such beauty that Eros would 
come back to me.' Quickly she lifted the cover, but 
there came out of the casket a cloud of stupefying 
vapour which threw her into a deep sleep. Befoiv 
Psyche entered the Lower World, Aphrodite had sent a 
messenger to the Queen to beg her, instead of filling 
the casket with the Salve of Beauty, to put into it a 



EEOS AND PSYCHE. 243 

narcotic vapour, for she thought that even if Psyche 
surmounted all the other difficulties in her path, she 
might at last be conquered by the temptation of curiosity 
and open the casket. 

But Eros was not far off. He had seen how Psyche 
had gone through so many dangers and horrors for love 
of him, and now he came and wiped away the magic 
vapour which had settled on her face, and shut it up 
again in the casket. Then he soared up to Olympus, 
the abode of the gods, and entreated Zeus to gift 
Psyche with immortality, and allow him to be married to 
her. Zeus granted his request, and sent down Hermes, 
the messenger, to raise Psyche from the earth and 
bring her into the assembly of the gods. Before them 
all, Zeus held out to her a shell filled with nectar, 
the drink of the gods, and said to her, * Drink immor- 
tality.' Even Aphrodite kissed her and blessed the 
marriage, for her anger had been overcome by Psyche's 
faithful love. The marriage was celebrated with great 
joyfulness, — Apollo and the Muses sang, the Graces 
danced, and the whole vault of heaven resounded with 
the mirth of the wedding guests. 

The envious sisters were already dead. After they 
had plunged Psyche into misery, they each hoped to 
become the bride of the unknown husband, and each, in 
turn went to the rock and threw herself from it, expect- 
ing the Wind-god to carry her into the valley as he had 
done before, but instead of that, they both fell down 
among sharp stones and perished miserably. Thus did 
they come to a bad end ; but Psyche was enthroned as 
a goddess beside her Love, in the unending joy of the 
blessed Immortals. 



INDEX. 



Fot Glossary of Etymologies and Related Myths see pages 
xiii — xxvii. 






ABSYRTUS. Son of Aeetes 
king of Colchis. Is taken 
on bo>rd the Argo by his sister 
Medea, 165. Is killed by Medea 
in order to delay Aeetes in his 
vursuit of the Argonauts, 166. 

Achelous, A river-god. Fights 
with Heracles for JJeianira, and 
is conquered by him, 142 and 
143. Helps Alcmaeon in his 
distress and gives him his daugh- 
ter in marriage, 228. 

Acheron. One of the rivers of the 
• Lower World. Psyche is rowed 
across it by Charon, 241. 

Acrisius. King of Argos. Builds 
a brazen room for his daughter 
Danae. and afterwards shuts her 
up with her child in a chest and 
turns them adrift, 05. Is acci- 
dentally killed by his grandson 
Perseus, 102. 

Actaeon. Is turned into a stag as 
a punishment fur looking at the 
goddess Artemis when bathing, 
24 and 25. 

Admetus. Is helped by Apollo to 
win the hand of Alcestis, 01 to 
03. Is restored to life through 
the sacrifice of Alcestis, 03 and 
04. 

Adrastus. King of Argos. Re- 
ceives Polynices when banished, 
by Eteocles, 212 and 213. 



AST 

Marches with him against 
Thebes, 213 to 221. Kscaj.es 
through the speed of his horse 
Arion, 221. Begs Theseus to 
procure an honourable burial 
for the Argives, 223. Sends the 
Epigoni to avenge their fathers, 
224. 

Aeetes. King of Colchis. Re- 
ceivts Phrixus when brought to 
his country by the Golden Ram, 
150. Promises to let Jason 
have the Golden Fleece on cer- 
tain conditions, 160. Plots to 
kill him, 164 and 165. Pursues 
Jason and Medea, but turns back 
to bury his son Alsyrtus, 166. 

Aegeus. King of Athens. Mar- 
ries Aethra and becomes the 
father of Theseus, 177- Re- 
ceives Theseus at Athens, 182 
and 183. Parts unwillingly 
with Theseus that he may go to 
Crete to slay the Minotaur, 187 
and 188. Kills himself at sn;ht 
of the black sail which he be- 
lieves to be the announcement 
of his son's death, 102. 

Aegyptus. Brother of Danaus, 
and king of a part of Africa, 34. 

Aethra. Marries Aegeus and be- 
comes the mother of Theseus, 
177. Keeps her son at Troezen 
till he is grown up, and then 



216 



INDEX. 



AFR 

sends him to his fatherat Athens, 
177 to 179. Takes charge of 
Helena for a time, till she is res- 
cued by her brothers, 199 and201. 

Africa. lo is kindly received in 
Africa by the king of Egypt, 32 
and 33. Danaus, her descendant, 
leaves the country for Argos, 34. 
The inhabitants are burnt black 
by Phaethon, 41. Cassiopea, 
"wife of Cepheus, king of a part 
of Africa, is punished by Po- 
seidon for her pride, 98 and 99. 
Perseus arrives and delivers 
Andromeda from the monster. 
99 and 100. 

Alcestis. Fa ughter of King Pelias, 
91. Ts sued for by Admetus, 92 
and 93. Dies in order that her 
husband may live, 93. Is re- 
stored to life by Persephone, 91. 

Alcmaeon. Son of Amphiaraus. 
Leads the Epigoni against 
Thebe?, 224 to 226. Eeturns 
home and kills his mother in 
obedience to the command of 
his father, 227- Goes to King 
Phegeus to be purified, and mar- 
ries his 'daughter, 227; but is 
obliged to leave the country, 
228. Asks the help of Acheloiis, 
who has pity on him and forms 
an island on which he can live, 
228. Marries the daughter of 
Acheloiis, 228. Is killed by the 
brothers of his former wife, 229. 

Alcmene. Daughter of Electryon. 
Is driven away from Mycenae 
after her father's death by her 
uncle Sthenelus, and takes refuge 
in Thebes, 105. Induces Am- 
phitryon to make war upon the 
Teleboae, 105 and 106. Is 
married to Zeus during his 
absence, but afterwards marries 
Amphitryon, 108. Become- the 
mother of Heracles andlphicles, 
108. Pi nils Heracles attacked 
by serpents, 109. 



AMP 

Altar of Pity. 'Erected by The- 
seus in the market-place of 
Athens, 196. Oedipus goes 
there to sue for help, 210. Also 
Adrastus, 223. 

Althaea. Wife of Oeheus king of 
Calydon, and mother of Mele- 
ager, whose death she hastens 
by burning the brand o i which 
his life depends, 83 and 88. 

Amalthea. The gnat thatnourished 
Zeus, 3. Her horn is converted 
into the Horn of Plenty, 5 ; 
and becomes the property of 
Heracles, 143. 

Amazons. A nation of women- 

' soldiers. Heracles is sent by 
Eurystheus to fetch the girdle 
of the Queen of the Amazons, 
124 to 126. The women of 
Lemnos try to imitate them, 153. 
Theseus carries off Hippolyta to 
be his wife, 193; and is in 
consequence attacked by the 
Amazons, 194. He wins the 
first victory ever gained over 
them, 195. 

Amphiaraus. A seer, brother-in- 
law of Adrastus king of Argos, 
213. Advises against the ex- 
pedition to Thebes, 214 and 
217; but is over-ruled by his 
wife Eriphyle, 214 and 215. 
Zeus interposes to prevent his 
being killed in thd battle, and 
takes him to dwell among the 
gods r 220 and 221. 

Amphion. King of Thebes, and 
husband of Niobe, 59 and 80. 
Builds a wall round the city by 
singing to the stones, 59 and 
60. Grieves for his children 
slain by Apollo and Artemis, 
81. 

Amphitryon. Comes to Mycenae 
to sue for the hand of Alcmene, 
and accidentally kills her father, 
Electryon, 105. Takes refuge 
with Creon, king of Thebes, 



INDEX. 



247 



AND 

105 ; and .delivers the city from 
a destroying Fox, 106. Makes 
■war upon the Teleboae at the 
desire of Alcmene, 105 to 108 
Marries Alcmene, 108. 

Androgens. Son of Minos king of 
Crete. Goes to Athens to take 
part in some games, and is killed 
by the Athenians on Lis way 
home, 186. 

Andromeda. Daughter of Cepheus 
and Cassiopea, 98. Is delivered 
by Perseus from the monster 
who was to have devoured her, 
09. Is married to him, 100. 

Antaeus. King of Libya. Com- 
pels Heracles to wrestle w th 
him, 133. His mother the 
Earth gives him new strength 
each time he touches her, but 
Heracles raises him in his arms, 
and strangles him to death, 133. 

Antigone. Daughter cf Oedipus, 
210. Chooses to share her 
father's fate when he is banished 
from Thebes, and accompanies 
him through all his wanderings, 
210 and 2 11. Buries her brother 
Polynices notwithstanding the 
prohibition of Creon, and is im- 
mured for having dared to dis- 
obey h m, 221 to 223. 

Aphrodite. Goddess of beauty, 23 1 . 
Gives' her daughter Harmonia 
to be the wife of Cadmus, 58. 
Gives Milanion three golden 
apples that he may conquer 
Atalanta in the race, 89. Is 
angry with Psyche, 231 ; -and 
treats her cruelly. 237 to 243 ; 
but is afterwards reconciled to 
her marriage with Eros, 243". 

Apollo. Son of Zeus and Into, 
and brother of Artemis, 23. 
Disputes with Idas for Mar- 
pessa, 21. Gifts Melampus 
with the power of knowing the 
future, 72. Punishes the pride 
of Niobe, 80 and 81. Becomes^* 



arg 

a time the slave of Admetus, 91. 
Helps Admetus to win Alcestis, 
92 and 93. Helps to arm 
Heracles for his fight with the 
Minyae, 112. Pefuses to prc- 
nounce the oracle demanded by 
Heracles, 139. Blesses the mar- 
riage of iros and Psyche, 243. 
Theseus sacrifices the Cretan 
Bull to Apollo, 185.— For the 
Temple of Apollo at Delphi see 
page 55, — also Delphi. 

Arcadia. Heracles drives the 
Stymphaliah birds out of the 
country, 121 and 122. 

Ares. The god of war. Is made 
prisoner by Otus and Ephialtes, 
28. Gives his daughter H*r- 
monia to be the wife of Cadmus, 
58. Gives a beautiful girdle to 
the Queen of the Amazons. 124. 

Argo. The vessel in which Jason 
and his friends sail to fetch the 
Golden Fleece, ,153. She is de- 
dicated to Poseidon, 171. 

Argonauts. The heroes who sailed 
in the Argo. For their adven- 
tures, see pages 153 to 171. 

Argos. The home of Io, 31. Her 
descendant Danaus finds a re- 
fuge in Argos when obliged to 
flee froin Egypt, and becomes 
king, 34 and 35. Lynceus suc- 
ceeds him, 37. Melampus is 
sent for to Argos to deliver the 
d tight ers of King Proetus from 
their mania, 73 and 74. Danae 
is driven away from Argos by 
her father, King Acrisius, 95. 
Perseus becomes king ot Argos, 
but exchanges it for the cities 
of Mycenae and Tiryns, .03. 
Pol,) nices comes to Ar^os to ask 
for help, 212. King Adrastus 
loads the Argives againstThebes, 
213 to 223. Their defeat isaftei- 
wards avenged by the Epigoni, 
224 to 227 

Argus. (1) The hundred-eyed 



248 



INDEX. 



ARI 

watchman placed bv Hera in 
Charge of Io, 81.-": (2) The 
builder of the Argo, 152 and 153. 

Ariadne. Daughter of Minos, 
king of Crete. Helps Theseus 
to overcome the Minotaur, and 
flees away with him, 188 to 
190. At Naxos, Theseus is com- 
manded to abandon her, 191; 
and she becomes the wife of the 
god Dionysus, 192. 

Arlon. A horse of divine origin. 
Carries Adrastus back to Artros 
after his defeat before Thebes, 
221. 
'Artemis. Goddess of the chase, 
2 1. Daughter of Zeus and Leto, 
and sister of Apollo, 23. Pun- 
ishes Ac^aeon for looking at her 
when bathing, 25. Causes the 
death of Otus and Ephialtes, 
28. Punishes Niobe for her 
pride, 80 and 81. Sends a wild- 
boar to lay waste the country 
round Caly'don, 81. — Festival of 
Artemis celebrated at Sparta, 
199. 

Asia. The home of Europa and 
Cadmus, 54. The country of 
the Amazons lies in Asia, 125 
and 193. Phrixus is brought to 
the city of Colchis in Asia by 
the Gulden Ram, 150. 

Atalanta. Is exposed in a forest 
and brought up by hunters, 81 
to 86. Takes part in the Caly- 
donian boar-hunt, 86 to 80. 
Allows hersc f to be conquered 
by the golden apples in the race 
with Milanion. 89 and 90. 

Athamas, King. Father of Phrixus 
and Helle, 148. Dionysus is 
placed under his charge by 
Zeus, 63. Hera is angry at 
this and punishes Athamas by 
making him mad, 63 aDd 150 
He kills his wife and children 
in his madness, and is con- 
demned to wander about I'll 



ATI 

he becomes the guest of wild 
beasts, 150 and 151. 

Athene. Daughter of Zens, and 
goddess of wisdom. Buries one 
of the Giants beneath the island 
of Sicily, 6. Teaches Bellerophon 
how to control the winged horse 
Pegasus, 49. Directs Cadmus 
to sow the dragon's teeth and 
build a city with the help of the 
warriors who should spring from 
them, 56 and 57. Receives from 
Perseus the Gorgon's head and 
fastens it to her shield, 103. 
Helps to arm Heracles for his 
fiiiht with the Miuyae, 112. 
Helps Heracles to drive away 
the Stymphalian birds, 121 and 
122. Returns the apples procured 
by Heracles from the Garden of 
the Hesperides, 135. Sends a 
Sacred Beam for the Argo, 153. 
Claims the guardianship of the 
city of Athens, 176 and 177. 

Athens. Is named after Athene, 
176 and 177. Amphitryon goes 
there to fetch the dog who could 
not be baffled of his prey, 106. 
The city is ruled over by Aegeus, 
177. Theseus arrives at Athens, 
182 ; delivers the land from the 
Bull of Marathon, 184 and 185 ; 
and from the tribute imposed 
by Minos, 185 to 191 ; succeeds 
his father as king of Athens, 
193 ; defeats the Amazons, 195 ; 
sets up an Altar of Pity in the 
market-place, 196. Hippolytus 
cames to stay at Athens, 197 and 
198: Oedipus finds a refuge 
there, 210. Adrastus comes to 
sue for help, 223. The bones of 
Theseus are brought to Athens, 
203 and 204. 

Atlas. Is compelled to support the 
vault of heaven, 134. Fetches 
the golden apples from the 
Garden of the Hesperides for 
Heracles, 134 and 135. 



INDEX, 



249 



A TIG 

Augcas. King of Elis. Has his 
stables cleansed by Heracles in 
a single clay, 119 and 120. Re- 
fuses to give the reward agreed 
upon, 120 an-1 12' . Is punished 
by Heracles for his treachery, 
111 and 142. 

Avcntinus, Mt. A mountain in 
Italy over which Heracles is 
driving the cattle of Geryon 
"when they are stolen by the 
Giant Cacns, 130. 



J^ACCH ANTES. Followers of 
Dionysus or Bacchus, 65 to 
67. 

Beam, The Sacred. A beam with 
the power of speech, — sent by 
Athene to be inserted in the 
Argo, 153. It reproves Jason 
and Medea for their crime, 167. 
Dies of old age, 171. 

Bclkrophon. Son of Glaucus, and 
grandson* of Sisyphus, kings of 
Corinth, 45. Kills his brother 
unintentionally, and goes to 
King Proetus to be purged from 
the stain of blood, 45. Is sent 
by Proetus to Iobates king of 
Lyeia, 46. Slays the Chimaera 
by the help of the winged horse 
Pegasus, 47 to 50. Marries the 
king's daughter and settles in 
the country, 51. 

Bias. Brother of Melampus. Ob- 
tains the hand of Pero,, daughter 

• of king Neleus, through the 
kindness of his brother, 69 to 
72. Obtains also a third part 
of the dominions of Proetus, king 
of Argos, 73 and 74. 

Black Sea. Crossed by Phrixus 
when carried by the Golden 
Ram to Colchis, 150. Passed 
through by the Argonauts on 
their way to Colchis, 155. 

Boreas. The god of the North 
Wind, 158. 



CAS 

Bull of Cre'c or of Marathon. 
Sent by Poseidon to Minos for 
sacrifice, 122. Taken to My- 
cenae by Heracles,! 23. Captured 
by Theseus and sacrificed to 
Apollo, 184 and 185. 

Busiris. A king of Egypt who 
sacrificed a stranger every year 
to the gods. Is killed by Hera- 
cles, 133 and 134. 

fYACUS. A giant living on 
Mt. Aventinus. Steals tho 
cattle of Heracles and is killed 
by him, 130 and 131. 

Cadmea. The fortress of Thebes. 
Named after Cadmus, 58. Hera 
enters and gives bad advice to 
Semele, 61. It is visited by a 
devastating Pox, whom Am- 
phitryon overcomes with the 
help of the Athenian Dog, 10 ft . 

Cadmus. Sets tff in search of his 
sister Enropa, 55. Is directed 
to found a city, 56. Sows 
dragon's teeth, from which 
spring warriors who help him 
to build the Cadmea, 57 and 
58. Marries Harmonia, 58. Is 
the father of Semele, 61. 

Calydon. The country of Oeneus 
and the scene of the great . 
boar-hunt in which Melcager 
and Atalanta take part, 83-89. 
Heracles goes there to sue for 
Deianira, 142, and spends some 
years there, 143. 

Capa.ncus. One of the Seven He- 
roes who march against Thebes, 
213 and 214. Is killed by light- 
ning, 219. 

Cassiopea. Wife of Gcpheus and 
mother of Andromeda. Punished 
by Poseidon for her pride, 98 and 
99. 

Castor. Son of Tyndareus and 
Leda, and twin -brother r*f Pol- 
lux. 20-0. Takes part in the 
expedition of the Argonauts, 



250 



INDEX. 



CAU 

157. Bescueshis sister Helena, 
20 1. Shan s the fate of his 
brother Pollux after deaih as 
well as through life, 201. 

Caucasus, JSlt. Prometheus is 
chained there, 12. 

Centaurs. Monstrous < creatures, 
halt men, half horses. Quarrel 
with Heracles, 117 to 119. 
Fight with the Lapithae, who 
overcome them with the help 
of Theseus, 196. (See also 
Chi: on, Xessus, and Pholus) 

Cepheus. King of a part of 
Africa. Husband of Cassiopea 
and father of Andromeda, 99 and 
100. 

Cerberus. A three-headed dog 
who stcoi as watchman at the 
gate of the land of Shades. 
Heracles is sent to fetch him to 
the Upper World, 135. He 
allows Psyche to pass him. 242, 

Cert/ne.an Hind. A hind under 
the protection of Artemis, cap- 
tured by Heracles as his third 
Labour," 116 and 117 

Chaos. The state of the universe 
before the creation of the heaven 
and the earth. 1. 

Charon. The ferryman who con- 
due' ed mortals to the Lower 
Worl< I . Row s Psyche across the 
river Acheron, 241. 

LMmaera. A monster half- lion, 
half-goat, with a serpent's tail, 
47. Killed by Bellerophon, 
48 to 50. 

Chiron. The wisest and best of 
the Centaurs. L s tracts Hera- 
cles, 100. Is killed t.y him un- 
intentionally, 118 and 119. 

Circe. An enchantress, sister of 
KingAeetes. Purges Jason and 
Medea from the blood of Absyr- 
tus, 167. 

Cilhaeron, Ml. Heracles pas- 
tures the flocks of Amphitryon 
on this mountain, and slays the 



lion whose skin he afterwards 
wears, 110 and 111. Oedipus 
is left there to perish by his 
parents, 205. 

Club-carrier. One of the robbers 
killed by Theseus on his jour- 
ney to Athens, 179. 

Clytaemnestra. Daughter of Ty.ii- 
dareus and Leda. 200. 

Colchis. The city of King Aeetes. 
Phrixus is brought there by the 
Golden Bam, 150. The Argo- 
nauts reach Colchis, 159. 

Corinth. The country of Sisy- 
phus, 43. Bellerophon is ob- 
liged to leave Corinth on ac- 
count of the murder of his 
brother, 45. Jason and Medea 
settle there, 173. Oedipus is 
brought there and adopted by 
King Polybus, 205 and 206. 

Creon (1). King of Corinth. Ee- 
ceives Jason and Medea, and 
offers his daughter Glauce to 
Jason for a wife, 173 and 174. 
(2). King of Thebes. Purges 
Amphitryon from the blood of 
Electryon, 105. Accompanies 
him on his expedition against 
the Teleboae, 106& 107. Gives 
his daughter Megara to Heracles 
for a wife, 1 ] 2. (3). Brother 
Jocasta. Becomes King of 
Thebes, 221. Refuses burial 1o 
the Argives and condemns Anti- 
gone to death for disobe\in ' 
his orders, 221 to 223. Is com- 
pelled by Theseus to rescind 
thqm, 223. 

Crete. Zeus is hidden in this 
island from his father when a 
child, 3. Daedalus makes the 
Labyrinth for King Minos, 52. 
Daedalus escapes from Crete 
with his son Icarus, 52 and 53. 
Heracles is sent by Eurystheus 
to fetch the Cretan bull to My- 
cenae, 122 and 123. The Argo- 
nauts land after having caused 



INDEX. 



251 



Talos to kill himself, 169 and 
1 70. Theseus goes to Crete us 
part of the tribute given by 
the Athenians, kills the Mino- 
taur and escapes with Ariadne, 
187 to 190. 
Cronus. Son of Uranus and 
Gala. Dethrones his father 
and succeeds him as king of 
the gods, 2. Marries Rhea, 2. 
Is dispossessed by his son Zeus, 
3 and 4. 

JJAEDALUS. An artist em- 
ployed by Minos king of 
Crete. Builds the Labyrinth, 
52. Escapes with his sonlcarus, 
52 and 53. 

Danae. Daughter of Acrisius, 
king of Argos. Is married to 
Zeus, and becomes the mother 
of Perseus, 95 and 96. Is shut 
up in a chest by her father and 
cast adrift, 95. Is allowed to 
take refuge on an island, 96. Is 
delivered by Perseus from the 
king. 101. 

Dandid.es. The daughters of Da- 
naus. They sail to Argos with 
their father, 34. Kill their 
husbands at his command, 35 
and 36. Are condemned to un- 
ending punishment in the 
Lower World, 37 and 38. 

J)a>iaus. A descendant of Io. 
Flees from his home in Africa 
with his daughters, and settles 
in Argos, 34. Becomes king of 
Argos, 35. Commands his daugh- 
ters to kill their husbands, an I 
wishes to punish Hypermnestra 
for failing to obey him, 36 and 37. 

Deiauira. Daughter of Oeneus 
king of Calydon. Is wooed by 
both Heracles and the river- 
god Achtloiis, who agree to 
light for her, 142. Marries 
Heracles, 143. Receives from 
the Centaur Nessus a cloth dip- 



D10 

ped in his blood, 144. Smears 
with this cloth the rube of He- 
racles, and thus causes his death, 
145 and 146. Hangs herself ia 
despair, 147. 

De'os. A floating island. Leto 
takes refuge on it, and Poseidon 
causes four pillars to spring up 
and hold it fast, 23. Apollo 
and .Artemis are born there, 23. 
The island is honoured by the 
Greeks, 24. 

Delphi. A city of Greece in which 
there was an oracle of Apollo, 55. 
(See Oracle.) Heracles carries 
off the sacred Tripod, 139. The 
Epigoni present to Apollo the 
best of the spoil taken from 
Thebes, 226. Achelous advises 
his grand-children to offer the 
veil and necklace of Harmonia, 
to Apollo at Delphi, 230. 

Dimeter. Daughter of Cronus, 4. 
Seeks for her daughter Perse- 
phone, 16 to 18. Creates corn 
and teaches Triptolemus how to 
cultivate it, 18 and 19. Eats by 
mistake the shoulder of Pelops, 
75 and 76. 

Deucalion. Son of Prometheus. 
Saves himself and his wife 
Pyrrha in a wo 'den chest at the 
time of the great Flood, 13 and 
14. They re-people the earth 
by throwing stones behind them 
which become men and women, 
15. 

DiomeJes. A king of Thrace who 
fed his horses on human flesh. 
Heracles is sent by Eurysi.heus 
to fetch the horses to Mycenae ; 
he conquers the. king and throws 
him to be eaten by his own 
horses, 123 and 124. 

Dionysus. Son of Zeus and Se- 
mele. Is placed under the 
charge of Athamas, 63 ; then 
under that of some nymphs, 64. 
Is gifted by Zeus with divine 



25: 



INDEX. 



power, 64 and 65. Creates the 
Vine, 65. Sets out upon a tri- 
umphal journey round the world, 
65. Punishes the sailors who 
refuse to take him to Naxos, 66 
and 67- Punishes the daugh- 
ters of Proetus who refuse to 
honour him, 73. Is received 
into the abode of the gods, 67- 
Marries Ariadne, 192. 

Dioscuri. The brothers Castor 
and Pollux, 201. 

Dolione.s. A people in whose 
country the Argonauts land on 
their way to Colchis, 154 and 155. 

J^ARTH, The. Gives a gerWen 

apple-tree to Hera on her 

marriage, with Zeus, 131. Gives 

her son Antaeus new stren^ th 

every time he touches her, 133. 

Egypt. Io is kindly received by 
the king, and becomes his wife, 
32 and 33. Danaus leaves Egypt 
for Argos, 34. Heracles kills 
King Busiris, 133 and 134. 

Electryon. Son and successor of 
Perseus. His right is disputed 
by Pterelaus king of the Tele- 
boa e, 104. He prepares to make 
an expedition against the Tele- 
boae, but is killed accidentally 
by Amphitryon, 105. 

EUs. A country of Greece. Ruled 
over by Salmoneus, 42. Pelops 
goes to Elis to sue for Hippo- 
damia, conquers her father in 
the chariot-race, and becomes 
king, 77 to 79. Heracles cleanses 
the stables of Augeas, king of 
Elis, 119 and 120. He marches 
against Elis to punish Augeas 
for his faithlessness, and trans- 
fers the kingdom to Phyleus, 
141 and 142. 

EncU/mion. A son of Zeus. Asks 
that he may sleep for evei*, 29. 
Is beloved by the god 'ess Selene, 
30. 



EUB 

Ephialtes. Brother of Otus, and 
son of Poseidon, 27. The bro- 
thers fight against the gods, and 
make Ares prisoner, 28. They 
are killed through a device of 
the goddess Artemis, 28. 

Epigoni. The sons of the Seven 
Heroes defeated before Thebes. 
They march against Thebes to 
avenge the death of their fathers, 
and take'possession of the citv, 
221 to 227. 

Epimetheus. Brother of Prome- 
theus, 9. Zeus sends Pandora 
to be his'wife, 10 and 11. 

Ergtnus. King of the Minyae. 
Demands tribute from the The- 
bans, 111. Is attacked and 
conquered by Heracles, 112. 

Eriphyle. Wife of Amphiaraus 
and sister of Adrastus, 214. 
Decides that Amphiaraus shall 
march against Thebes, 215. Is 
killed by her son Alcmaeon, 227. 

Eros. The god of Love — son of 
Aphrodite, 231. Is commanded 
*by his mother to do Psyche an 
injury, but instead of that, 
marries her secretly, 231 to 236. 
Is obliged to leave her. 236. 
Obtains the gift of immortality 
for Psyche, and the sanction of 
the gods to his marriage with 
her, 243. 

Erymanthus, Mt. The home of 
the boar captured by Heracles 
as his Fourth Labour, 117 to 
119- 

Eteocles. Son of Oedipus and Jo- 
casta. Banishes his brother 
Polynicesfrom Thebes, 212. De- 
fies the summons of the Argives 
to surrender the kingdom, 218, 
Challenges Polynices to a single 
combat, in which each brother 
kills the other, 220, 

Euboea. The country of Eur} tus. 
Heracles goes there to sue for 
Iole, 137. Heracles conquers 



INDEX. 



253 



EUR 

the city and kills Eurytus and 
liis sons, 145. 

Eiiropa. Sister of Cadmus. Is 
carried off by Zeus in the form 
of a bull, 54 and 58. 

Europe. The country to "which 
Europawas carried by the bull, 
and which was called after her, 
58. Heracles reaches the ex- 
treme limit of Europe, 128. 
Phrixus and Helle are carried 
away from it into Asia by the 
Golden Earn, 150. 

Eiirysthrus, Son of Sthenelus. 
Becomes king of Mycenae and 
Tiryns, 109. Is served for 
twelve years by Heracles who 
performs twelve Labours at his 
command, 113 to 137. 

Eurytus. King of Euboea. Be- 
fuses to give his daughter Iole 
in marriage to Heracles and 
taunts him with his former mad- 
ness, 137. He and his sons are 
killed by Heracles, 145. 

Eve nits. Father of Marpessa. Be- 
fuses to let his daughter marry 
Idas, 20. Pursues Idas and Mar- 
pessa, and being unable to over- 
take them, drowns himself, 21. 

J^ATES. Three goddesses who 
determine the course of 
men's lives. They are present 
at the birth of Meleager, 83. 
They promise that Admetus 
shall recover if one of his 
relatives will die for him, 93. 
They decree that the Theban 
Fox shall never be caught, and 
that the Athenian Dog shall 
never pursue in vain, 106. 

Fir-bend.r. One of the robbers 
killed by Theseus on his jour- 
ney to Athens, 179 and 180. 

Flood. Zeus destroys the whole 
race of men by a great Flood, 
excepting Deucalion and Pyrrha, 
13 to 15. 



GOL 

QAEA. Wife of Uranus and 
goddess of the earth, 1. 
Helps her son Cronus to de- 
throne his father, 2. Plans the 
overthrow of Cronus, 3. Cre- 
ates Giants to fight against the 
gods, 5 ; also a monster named 
Typhoeus, 6. Interferes to pre- 
vent Phaethon from burning up 
the earth, 41. 

Ganymede. Sun of Laomedon 
king of Troy. Is carried off to 
Olympus by the sacred eagle of 
Zeus, 127. 

Garden of the- Hesperides. A 
garden in Oceanus where Hera 
planted the golden apple-tree, 
given her by the Earth at her 
marriage with Zeus. Heracles 
is sent, by Eurystheus to fetch 
three gclden apples from it, 131 
to 135. 

Geryon. A three-headed king in 
the far West, possessor of a 
beautiful herd of red-brown 
cattle. He loses his life in 
defending them against Hera- 
cles, 128 and 129. 

Giants. Huge monsters created 
by Gaea to fight against the 
gods. They are deteated in a 
great buttle, and buried beneath 
volcanic mountains, 6. 

Glance. Daughter of Creon king 
of Corinth. Is offered to Jason 
as a bride, 173 and 174. Her 
death is caused by Medea, 
174. 

Glaucus. Son of Sisyphus, and 
father of Bellerophon, 45. 

Golden Aye. The time when men 
were first created, and lived 
long and happy lives, 8. 

Golden Fleece. The fleece of the 
ram who carried ■ Phrixus to 
Colchis. It is hung up on a 
tree in a forest near Colchis, 
150. Jason is sent to fetch it, 
152. He carries it off fiom 



2o4 



INDEX. 



the f. -rest, 16c ; and brings it 
.safely to Iolcus, 171. 

Gorgovs. Three sisters with iron 
claws and golden wings and 
live si-rpents instead of hair. 
who turned to stone everyone 
that looked at them, 96 and 98. 
Perseus cuts off the head of Me- 
dusa, the youngest Gorgon, 98. 

Graces. Three beautiful daugh- 
ters of Zeus. They dance 
at the wed. ling of Eros and 
Psyche, 243. 

Grey Sisters. Sisters of the Gor- 
gons -who had on'y one eye and 
one tooth between them. Pt-r- 
seus goes to their cave and" 
obliges them to. tell him where 
to find the nymphs who can 
help him obtain the head of 
Medusa, 97. 

TJARMONIA. D-uchter of 
Ares and Aphrodite. Is 
married to Cadmus, 58. Js pre- 
sented by Hephaestus wicSi a 
beautiful veil and necklace, 214 

Harpies, Creaturrs with the bo- 
dies of maidens and the feet and 
wings of ravens. They torment 
Phineus until they are killed by 
the Argonauts, 157 and 158. 

Hebr. A goddess, — daughter of 
Hera. Is given by her in mar- 
riage to Heracles, 147- 

Helena. Daughter of Zeus and 
Luda. 200. Is carried off by 
Theseus and Pirithous, 1(9. 
Is rescued l»y her brothers, Cas- 
tor and Pollux, 201. 

Helios. The sun -god. Tells 
Demefer that Plu'O has carried 
off her daughter, 17- Unwill- 
ingly grants the request of his 
son Phaethon to be allowed to 
drive the chariot of the sun. 39 
to 41. Lends Heracles his golden 
shell that he may sail in it to 
the island of Gervon, 129, 



HER 

Hellc. Daughter of King At lla- 
mas and sister of Phrixus 
Is carried away, with her 
brother, by the Golden Earn, 
but falls off his back into ihe 
sea and is drowned, 148 to 
150. 

Hellespont. The sea which lies 
between Europe and Asia. Called 
after Helle, 150. 

Hephaestus. Fashions Pandora out 
of clay, 10. Binds Prometheus 
to a rock on Mt. Caucasus, 12. 
Helps to arm Heracles for his 
.fight with the JMinyae, 112. 
Makes the rattle which Hera- 
cles uses to drive away the 
Stj mphalian birds, 122. Makes 
an iron watchman for Minus 
king of Crete, 1 69. Presents a 
beautiful veil and necklace to 
Cadmus and Harmonia, 214 

Hera. Daughter of Cronus, 4. 
Becomes the wife of Zeus and 
queen of the gods, 4. Js prr- 
sented by the Earth at her 
marriage with a golden apple- 
tree, 131. Persecutes Leto, 23 ; 
and Io, 31 to 33. Gives trea- 
cherous advice to Semele ; 61. 
Punishes Athamas for receiving 
Dionysus, 63 and 150. Is re- 
conciled to Dion} sus and Semele, 
67. Causes Eurystheus to be 
born before Heracles and thus 
become heir to the cities of 
Mycenae and Tiry s, 109. 
Sends serpents to kill Heracles 
when a child, 109. Afflicts him 
with madness, 113. Takes the 
form of an Amazon and leads 
an attack upon Heracles, 125, 
Sends a great gnat to torment 
his cattle, 131. Eaises a storm 
to destroy .him, 141 ; and is 
punished for this by Zeus, 141. 
Is reconciled to Heracles and 
welcomes him among the gods, 
147- Protects the Argonauts 



INDEX. 



2oo 



HER 

in their passage through fcne 
Wandering Rocks, 169. 
Heracles. Son of Zeus and Aic- 
mene, 108 and 109. Strangl . 
two serpents sent by Hera to kill 
him in his sleep, 109. -Is tn 
by the Centaur Chiron, 110. 
Kills a lion on Mt. Cithaeron 
and dresses himself in the skin, 
110 and 111. Conquers the 
Minyae and kills their king, 
Erginus, 111 and 112. Marrii 
Megara, 112. Becomes mad 
•and throws his children into the 
fire, 113. Leaves Thebes in 
nsequence, and enters the 
rvice of Eurystheus for whom 
performs twelve Labours : — ■ 
1st Labour. Killing the Ne- 
mean Lion, 113 and 11-4. 
2nd Labour. Killing the Ler- 
nean Hydra, 114 to 116. 
3rd Labour. Capturing the 
Ceryneian Hind, 1 16 and 
117. 
4th Labour. Bringing the 
Erymanthian Roar to 
Mycenae, 117 and 119. 
5th Labour. Cleansing the 
stables of Augeas in a 
single day, 1 3 9 to 121. 
6th Labour. Driving away 
the Stymphalian Birds, 

121 and 122. 

7th Labour. Bringing the 
Cretan Bull to Mycenae, 

122 and 123. 

8th Labour. Bringing to My- 
cenae the fierce horses of 
Diomedes, 123 and 124, 
i Labour. Obtaining the 
girdle of the Queen of 
the Amazons, 124 to 126. 

10th Labour. Eetchingthc cat- 
tle ofG-eryon,128tol31. 

11th Libour. Procuring three 
golden apples from the 
Garden of the Hespe- 
rides, 131 to 135. 



KER 

] 2Hi Labour. Fetching the 
three-headed dog Cerbe- 
rus from the Lower 
World, 135 to 137. 
Heracles delivers Prometheus 
from the eagle, 12. Fights 
with tho Centaurs and causes 
the death of Chiron uninten- 
tionally, 117 to 119. Delivers 
Hesione from the monster, 126 
and 127. Punishes Laomedon 
her father for breaking his word 
to him, 140. Kills the giant 
Cacus for stealing his cattle, 
130 and 131. Wrestles with 
Nereus the sea - god, 132. 
Wrestles with Antaeus, son of 
the Earth, and squeezes him to 
death, 133. Kills Busiris who 
had been accustomed to sacrifice 
a stranger every year to the 
gods, 133 and 134. Visits 
Atlas, and takes his place for a 
time in supporting the heaven, 
134 and 135. Goes to Oechalia 
to sue for Iole daughter of King 
Eurytus, and is taunted by her 
father with his former madness, 
137 and 138. Punishes Eury- 
tus for this, 145. Kills Iphitus, 
son of Eurytus, 138. Is smitten 
with sickness, and when he 
asks the Oracle what he shall 
do, is refused an answer, 139. 
Quarrels with Apollo about this 
and carries off the sacred Tri- 
pod, 139. Enters the service 
of Omphale queen of Lydia, 
with whom he remains for three 
years, 139 and 140, Punishes 
Augeas for his faithlessness, 141 
and 142. Goes to Calydon to 
sue for Deianira, and wins her 
in a contest with the river-god 
Achdous, 142 and 143. Mar- 
ries Deianira and lives with 
her for some, time in Calydon, 
143. Accidentally kills his 
servant-boy and has to leave, and 



256 



IX I EX. 



HER 

go to Trachin to be purified, 143 
and 144. Is about to celebrate 
his victory over Eurytus when 
he receives from Deianira a 
Vobe poisoned with the blood of 
the Centaur Nessus, which 
causes him such terrible suffer- 
ing that he resolves to die, 145 
and 146. Ascends Mt. Oeta 
and builds a funeral pile which 
he causes to be set alight, 146. 
But before the flames reach him, 
he is carried tip to Mt. Ohmpus 
and enthroned among the gods, 
146 and 147. The- goddess Hebe 
is given to him for a wifs, 147. 

Hermes. The Messenger of the 

gods. Takes Pandora to Epi- 

- metheus. 10. Is sent to tell 

. Deucalion and Pyrrha that 
they may make any request they 
like, 14. Helps Ares to escape 
from captivity, 28. Kills the 
watchman Argus, and rescues 
Io, 31 and 32. Takes Dionysus 
to King Athamus, 63; and 
afterwards to be brought up by 
some nymphs, 64. Gives Perseus 
a sickle with whiek to cut off 
the head of Medusa, 97. Re- 
turns to the nymphs the three 
Precious Things they had lent 
to Perseus. 103. Steals part of 
the booty of Amphitryon for 
Zens, 108. Helps to arm 
Heracles for his fight with the 
Minyae, 112. Brings the 
Golden Ram to carry away 
Phrixus and Helle, 149. Brings 
Psyche into the assembly of the 
gods, 2-43. 

Hi stone. Daughter of Laomedon 
king of Troy. Is rescued by 
Heracles from the monster, 126. 
Is given to the hero Telanion 
after the conquest of Troy, and 
allow, d to take her little brother 
Podarces or Priam with her, 
1-10 and 141. 



HIT 

Hesjhrides. Thre* nymphs who 
tended the garden oi golui-u 
■"pple-trees, 132. (See Garden 
of Hesperides.) 

Hstia. Daughter of Cronus, 4. 

Hippodamia* Daughter of Oena- 
maus king of Elis. Her father 
compels all her suitors to com- 
pete with him in a chariot-race, 
77. Pel ops wins, and marries 
Hippodamia, 78 and 79. 

Hippolyta. An Amazon carried 
off by Theseus to be his wife, 
193 and 194. She is killed, 
fighting for him against her 
country-women, 195. 

Hip>polytus. Son of Theseus and 
Hippolyta, 194. Is beloved by 
Phaedra, wife of Theseus. 197. 
She causes his death, 198. 

Hippomedon. One of the. Seven 
Heroes . who march against 
Thebes. 213. 

Horn of Plenty. The horn of the 
goat Anialthea, converted by 
Zeus into a miraculous horn, 5. 
Is given to Heracles in exchange 
for the horn of Acheloiis, 143. 

Hundred-armed. Monsters, child- 
ren of Uranus "and Gaea, 1. Are 
thrust into Tartarus, 2 and 3. 
Are released by Zeus and help 
him to fight against the old 

. gods, 4. 

Hydra. A monster killed by 
Heracles, 114 to 116. Heracles 
poisons his arrows with the 
Hydra's gall, 116 ; and uses 
them in shootingatthe Centaurs, 
118; and 114. 

Hylas. The most beautiful boy in 
Greece. Is dragged down' into 
a forest pool by the nymphs who 
live there, and never seen again, 
155 and 156. 

Hypsipcle. Queen of Lemnos. 
Saves the life of her father 

" when all the other men in the 
island are killed, 153 and 154. 



1NDKX. 



257 



Is banished in consequence, and 
becomes nurse to the child of 
Lvcurgus king of Nemea, 215- to 
217. 

J CAR US. Son of Daedalus. 
Flies away from Crete with 
his f;it her, but falls into the sea 
and is drowned, 52 and 53. 

Idas. Carries off Marpessa in a 
winged chariot, 20. Is preferred 
by her to the god Apollo, 21 
and 22. 

Iuo. Wife of Athamas, and step- 
mother of Phrixus and Hell.-, 
63 and U8. Tries to get 
Phrixus put to death, 148 and 
149. Is killed in trying to 
escape from her husband in h ; s 
madness, 63 and 150. 

Jo. Daughter of a king of Argos. 
Is beloved by Zens, and changed 
by him into a white cow to save 
her from Hera, 31. Hera gets 
possession of the cow and put to 
her under the charge of the 
watchman Argus, 31. She is 
rescued by Hermes, 31 and 32. 
Hera however continues to tor- 
ment her till she is protected by 
the king of Egypt who marries 
her, 32 and 33. 

Iohates. King of Lycia. Receives 
Bellerophon kindly, 47 ; but at 
the request of Proetus, sends 
him on dangerous missions in 
the hope of his being killed, 47 
to 50 ; until, finding that he is 
under the protection of the gods, 
he begs him to settle in the 
country and gives him his daugh- 
ter in marriage, 51. 

Johlus. A cousin of Heracles. 
Accompanies him on his expedi- 
tion to destroy the Lernean 
Hydra, 115 and 116. 

Macs. The city of King Pelias, 

,151. Jason sets out from Iolcus 

in quest of the Golden Fleece, 



JAB 

152 and 153. Returns with the 
Fleece, 171. Is obliged to leave 
the ciry, 173. 
Iole. Daughter of Eurytus king of 
Oechalia. Is sought in marriage 
by Heracles, but. refused to him 
by her father, 137 and 138. 
es. Son of Amphitryon and 
mene, and half-bi other of 
Heracles, 108 and 109. 

by .:'* 

Pern, 69. 
a be 

s and 

138. 

the cattle of Gi 
130. 

JASON. Nephew of Pelias, 
king of Iolcus, by whom he 
js sent to fetch the Golden 
Fleece, 152. Reaches Colchis, 
159; and accomplishes the tasks 
demanded by Aeetes, 160 to 164. 
Obtains possession of the Fleece 
by the help of Medea, and es- 
capes with her, 165. Is purified 
by Circe from the blood of Ab- 
sy tus, 1.67. Arrives at Iolcus 
and shows Pelias the Golden 
Fleece, 171. Goes to Corinth, 
where King Creon offers him 
Glance for his wife, 173. Pre- 
sents her with a marriage-robe 
which, unknown to him, has 
been poisoned by Medea, 174. 



S 



258 



INDEX.. 



JOC 

Sees Medea drive away in her 
dragon- car, 175. 
Jocastn. Wife of Laius king of 
Thebes, and mr ther of Oedipus, 
205. Marries Oedipus, not 
knowing who he is, 207 and 
208. When it is discovered, she 
bangs herself in her despair and 
grief, 209. 

JjABYRlSTH. A wonderful 

house made for Minos king 
of Crete by the artist Daedalus, 
52 ;md 186. Theseus enters it 
and kills the Minotaur, 189 and, 
190. 
Laius. King of Thebes and hus- 
band of Josasta. Exposes his son 
Oedipus on Mt. Cithaeron, 
205. Is killed by his son iin- 
knowingly, 206 and 207. 
Land of Shades. See Lower 

World. 
Jjaodamas. Son of Eteocles. Suc- 
ceeds his father as king of 
Thebes, and is killed in fighting 
against the Epigoni, 225. 
Laomedon. King of Troy, and 
father of Ganymede, Hesione 
and Friam, Tries to cheat the 
gods Apollo and Poseidon, and 
is punished by them, 126. Ee- 
ceives from Zeus two horses of 
the gods to cons-de him for the 
loss of Ganymede, 127. Pro- 
mises the horses to Heracles if 
he will deliver Hes : one from the 
monster, but fails to keep his 
word. 126 and 127. Is punished 
.by Heracles for his faithlessness, 
140. 
Lapithae. The subjects of Piri- 
thoiis the friend of Theseus, 195. 
Thev conquer the Centaurs with 
the help of Theseus, 1 96. 
Leda. W T ife of Tyndareus king of 
Sparta, Marries Zeus in the 
form of a swan, and becomes 
th c mother of Pollux and Helena, | 



LYC 

as well as of Castor and CTy- 
taemnestra, 200. 

Lemnos. An island inhabited by 
women- only. The Argonauts 
rest there on their way to Col- 
chis, 153 and 154. 

Lerne. The city near which wa.i 
the abode of the Lernean 
Hydra destroyed by Heracles, 
115. 

Leto. Marries Zeus, and becomes 
the mother of Apollo and Arte- 
mis, 23 and 24. Begs her chil- 
dren to punish Niobe, 80. 

Lihya. The country of Antaeus. 
Heracles wrestles with him, 133. 

Lichas, A herald. Brings to 
Heracles the robe poisoned by 
Deianira which causes him such 
agony that he beats Lichas to 
death against the rocks. 145 
and 146. 

Lower World. Pluto is made 
king of the Low-er World, 5. 
Persephone is carried off to it 
by Pluto, 16 to 18. The Dana- 
ides are condemned to never- 
ending punishment, 37 and 3S. 
Tantalus is condemned to a 
similar punishment, 76. Al- 
cestis is allowed to return from 
the Lower World, 94. Heracles 
goes there to fetch Cerberus, 
135 to 137. Theseus and Piri- 
thoiis descend with the in- 
tention of carrying off Per- 
sephone, 199 to 202. Castor 
and Pollux spend alternate days 
in Olvmpus and in the Lower 
World, 201. The helmet of 
Pluto is lent to Perseus, 97. 

Lvcia. The country of King 
Iobates. Bellerophon slays the 
Chimaera. and afterwards settles 
in the country, 47 to 51. 
Lycomedes. King of part of the 
island of Scyros, 202. Kills 
Theseus by treachery, 203. 
Lycurgxis. King of Nemea. The 



INDEX. 



259 



LTD 

Nemean games are instituted in 
memory of his child by the 
heroes marching through his 
country on their way to Thebes, 
215 to 217. 

Lyclia. The country of Queen 
Omphale, whom Heracles serves 
as a slave for three years, 139 
and UO. 

Zynceus. Son of Aegyptus. Is 
saved from death by his wife 
Hvpermnestra, 36. Succeeds 
Danaus as king of Argos, 37. 



JMARPESSA. Daughter of 
Evenus. Runs away with 
Idas, 20. Prefers him to the 
god Apollo, 21 and 22. 

Medea. Daughter of Aeetes king 
of Colchis. Helps Jason to win 
the Golden Fleece, and escapes 
with him, 161 to 165. Kills 
her brother Absyrtus, 166. Is 
purged by Circe from the stain 
of blood, 167. Deceives Talos 
and makes him destroy himself, 
169 and 170. Deludes the 
daughters of Pelias into killing 
their father, 172 and 173. 
Sends a poisoned robe to Grlauce, 
174. Flees away from Corinth 
in her dragon-car, 175. Is at 
the court of Aegeus at Athens 
when Theseus arrives, 183. Her 
plan for poisoning him fails, and 
she flees away in her winged car, 
183 and 184. 

Mediterranean. The sea which one 
' of the Giants is in the act of 
crossing when buried by Athene 
Tinder the island of Sicily, 6. 
Europa is carried across it by 
Z'us, 58. 

Medusa. One of the three Gor- 
gons. Is killed by Perseus, 96 
to 98. Her head turns his 
enemies to stone, 101. 

Megara. Daughter of Creon, king 



HITS 

of Thebes. Becomes the wife 
of Heraclos, 1 12. Dies, 137. 

Melampus. Learns the language 
of birds and insects, 68 ; and the 
art of knowing the future, 72. 
Obtains the cattle of Iphiclus 
for his brother Bias, 69 to 72. 
Restores the reason of the 
daughters of Proetus, 73 and 74. 

Meleager. Son of Oeneus and 
Althaea, king and queen of 
Calydon. Takes part in the 
great boar -hunt which Atalanta 
also attends, and dies in con- 
sequence of a quarrel with his 
uncles, 83 to 88. 

Milanion. Wins the race with 
Atalanta by the help of three 
golden apples which he drops 
at intervals, 89 and 90. 

Minos. King of Crete. Father of 
Ariadne and Phaedra. Refuses 
to let Daedalus leave his country, 
52. Is sent a bull for sacrifice 
by Poseidon, but fails to kill it, 
122. Receives Heracles who de- 
livers him from the mad bull, 1 22 
and 123. Is furnished by Heph- 
aestus with an iron watchman, 
169. Demands from the Athe- 
nians a tribute of seven youths 
and seven maidens, 186. Hears 
that Theseus has slain the Mi- 
notaur and carried off his daugh- 
ter Ariadne, 190 and 191. Gives 
his daughter Phaedra in mar- 
riage to Theseus, 197. 

Minotaur. A monster, half man, 
half bull, who lived in the 
Labyrinth of Crete, 187. Is 
killed by Theseus, 189 and 190. 

Minyae. The subjects of King 
Erginus. They are conquered 
by Heracles and obliged to pay 
tribute to the Thebans, 112. 

Moors. Name given to the people 
of Africa, burnt black by 
Phaethon, 41. 

Mutes. Nine beautiful goddesses 



2 GO 



INDEX. 



3ITC 
of poetry, art and science. They 
teach a riddle to the Sphinx, 207. 
They sing at the marriage of 
Eros and Psyche, 243. 
Mycenae. A city of Greece. 
Perseus exchanges his kingdom 
of Argos for the cities of 
Mycenae and Tiryns, 103. The 
right of his son Electryon to 
succeed is disputed by Pterelaus, 

104. Amphitryon conies to 
Mycenae to sue for Alcmene, 
but is obliged to leave on ac- 
count of the unintentional 
murder cf Electryon, 105. 
Sthenelus drives away Alc- 
mene and seizes the kingdom, 

105. His son Eurystheus suc- 
ceeds him as king, 109. He- 

« . racles goes to Mycenae and 
serves Eurystheus for twelve 
years, 113. 

Mysia. . A country of Asia Minor. 
The Argonauts land on their 
way to Colchis, and leave He- 
racles and Hylas behind when 
they sail away, 155 and 156. 

J\TAXOS. An island, the favour- 
ite land of the. god Dionysus, 
66 and 67. He finds Ariadne on 
the island and marries her, 191 
and J 92.' 

Kelefis. King of Pylos. De- 
mands the cattle of Iphiclus in 
return for the hand of his 
daughter Pero, 69. Gives her 
in marriage to Bias, 72. Re- 
fuses to purge Heracles from 
rhe murder of Iphitus, 138. 
Herach s marches against him 
and kills him and all his family, 
142. 

1'eihca. A city of Greece. He- 
racles goes there to kill the 
Nemean lion, 113. The Nemean 
Games are instituted in memory 
of the child of King Lycurgus, 
215 to 217- 



OED 

Nereus. A sea-god. Is com- 
pelled by Heracles to tell him 
how to obtain the golden apples 
from the Garden of the Hesper- 
ides, 132. 

Nessus. • A Centaur. Carries 
Deianira across the river and 
tries to run away with her, but 
is shot by Heracles with a 

. poisoned arrow, 144. 

J^estor. Son of Nelens king of 
Pylos. The only member of the 
family of Neleus left alive after 
the revenge of Heracles, 142. 

Niobe. Daughter of Tantalus, 
and wife of Amphion king of 
Thebes. Boasts of her supe- 
riority to the goddess Leto, and 
is punished by having all her 
children taken from her at once, 
80 to 83. 

QCEAXUS. The great stream 
tiiat flows right round the 
world. The horses of Helios 
bathe in it every evening, 39. 
The Gorgons live on an island 
in Oceanus, 97. On an island in 
Oceanus lives the three-head- d 
king Geryon, whose cattle He- 
racles is sent to fetch, 128. The 
golden apple-tree from which 
the Garden of the Hesperides 
grows, is planted by Hera in 
Oceanus, 131 and 132. 

Oechalia. The capital of Eurytus 
king of Euboea. The city is 
destroyed by Heracles, 145. 

Oedipus. Son of Laius and 
Jocasta, kii'g and queen of 
Thebes. Is exposed by his pa- 
rents on Mt Cithaeron because 
of the prediction that he shall 
kill his father and marry his 
mother, 205. Is found by a 
herdsman and taken to Polybus 
king of Corinth who adopts 
him, 206. Kills his father not 
knowing who he is, 207. Goes to 



INDEX. 



261 



OEN 

Thebes where he delivers the 
country from the Sphinx, and is 
rewarded with the kingdom and 
the hand of Jocasta, 207 and 
208. Puts out his eyes in de- 
spair, on discovering his parent- 
age, 209. Is banished from 
Thebes, and finds a refuge at 
Athens, where he dies. 210 and 
211. 

Oeneiis. King of Calydon, and 
father of Meleager and Deia- 
nira. Inaugurates the great 
Calydonian boar- hunt, 83 to 88. 
Eeceives Heracles, who comes 
to sue for Deianira, 142. 

Ocnomaus. King of Elis. Makes 
all the suitors of his daughter 
Hippodamia, vie with him in a 
chariot -race, and is killed in 
racing with Pelops, 77 to 79. 

Oeta, Mt. Heracles ascends the 
mountain and builds his funeral 
pile upon it, 146. 

Olympus, Mt. The abode of the 
gods, 2. The Giants • try to 
climb up into it, 5 and 6. De- 
meter comes down from it to 
the earth, 16 and 17. Hera 
drives Leto from it, 23 ; but 
afterwards receives her back 
again, 24. Hera descends from 
it to give bad advice to Semele, 
61. Zeus descends and shows 
himself to Semele in god-like 
splendour, 62. Dionysus ^and 
Semele are received among the 
gods, 67. Tantalus is allowed 
sometimes to ascend to Mt. 
Olympus, 75. Ganymede is 
brought to Mt. Olympus by the 
sacred eagle of Zeus, 127- 
Heracles is enthroned as a god, 
147. Psyche is received among 
the Immortals, 243. Heracles 
drives the horses of Diomedes 
tothefo .t of Mt. Oljmpus, 124. 

Omphale. Queen of Lydia. He- 
Tacles sells himself to her as a 



TAN 

slave for three years, 139 and 
140. 

One-eyed, The. Monstrous children 
of Uranus and Gaea, 1. Are 
thrust into Tartarus, 2 and 3. 
Are released by Zeus, and forge 
weapons for him, 4. 

Oracle. A temple of Apollo at 
Delphi, where the god vouch- 
safed prophetic answers (also 
called Oracles) to those who 
came to enquire concerning the 
future. Answers are given to 
Cadmus, 56 ; Oenomaus 77 ; 
Aerisius, 95 ; the parents of 
Andromeda, 99; Heracles. 113 
and 139 ; the Trojans, 126 ; Pe- 
lias, 151; the Atheuians, 203; 
Oedipus, 206 ; Adrastus, 213; 
Alcmaeon, 227 ; the parents of 
Psyche, 231. 

Orpheus. Delivers the Argonauts 
from the Sirens by overpower- 
ing their song, 168, 

Ossa, Mt. The Giants propose 
to set up this mountain on the 
top of Mt. Pelion, and so 
climb up to Olympus, 6. 

Qthrys, Mt. The mountain 
from which the old gods fight 
• with the younger ones, 4. 

OtUs. Son of Pcseidon and brother 
of Ephialtes, 27- He and his 
brother fight against the gods 
and make Ares prisoner, 28. 
They are killed through adevice 

, of Artemis, 28. 

pALLANTIDAE. Sons of Pal- 
las, the brother of Aegeus, 
177. They lay a plot to kill 
their Uncle and Theseus, 184. 

Pallas. Brother of Aegeus king 
of Athens, 177. 

Pandora. Is fashioned by Heph- 
aestus out of clay, and endowed 
with gifts by all the gods, 10. 
Is sent to be the wife of Epi- 
metheus, and takes with her, 



262 



INDEX. 



PAR 

as her dowry, a casket full of 
Diseases and Cares, 10 and 11. 

Parnassus. A mountain sacred to 
the gods. Zeus proves it to be 
the centre of the earth, 14. The 
chest in which Deucalion and 
Pyrrha have been preserved 
during the Flood, strands there. 
14. The sacred Oracle of Apollo 
is located in Delphi, a city on 
Mt. Parnassus, 55. 

Parthenopaeus. One of the Seven 
Heroes who marched against 
Thebes, 213. 

Pegasus. A beautiful winged 
horse. Bellerophon becomes 
his master, is taught by the 
goddess Athene how to control 
him, and by his help overcomes 
the Chimaera, 48 to 50. 

Pelias. King of Iolcus, 151; and 
father of Alcestis, 92. Gives 
his daughter in marriage to 
Admetus, 92 and 93. Sends 
Jason to fetch the Golden Fleece, 
152. Kills the father of Jason 
during his absence, 171. Is put 
to death by his own daughters, 
through the treachery of Medea, 
172 and 173. 

Pelion, Mt. The Giants propose 
to climb up from this mountain 
to Olympus, 6. 

Peloponnesus. A peninsula of 
Greece* named after Pelops, 79. 

Pelops. Is killed by his father, 
and served up to the gods at a 
banquet, 75 ; butis brought to life 
again by Zeus, 76. Is dispos- 
sessed of his kingdom of Phrygia, 
77. Travels to Elis, and through 
craft conquers Oenomaus in the 
chariot-race, 77 to 79. Marries 
Hippodamia, and becomes king 
of Elis, 79. 

Perigune. Daughter of the Fir- 
bender, one of the robbers slain 
by Theseus on his Avay to 
Athens, 180. 



PHE 

Pero. Daughter of Neleus, king 
of Pylos, 69. Becomes the wife 
of Bias, 72. 

Persephone. Daughter of Deme- 
ter. Is carried off by Pluto to 
be queen of the Lower World, 
16 to 18. Sends back Alcestis 
to live again for a time in the 
Upper World, 94. Receives 
Heracles when he visits the 
Lower World, 136. Gives 
Psyche the casket for which she 
has been sent by Aphrodite, 
212. 

Pers'us. Son of Zeus and Danae, 
95 and 96. Is sent by the king 
of the island where his mother 
has taken refuge, to fetch the 
head of Medusa, 96 to 98. Res- 
cues Andromeda from the mon- 
ster, and is married to her, 99 to 
101. Returns with the head of 
Medusa, and rescues his mother 
from the king, who wants to 
marry her, 101. Kills his 
grandfather unintentionally, and 
succeeds to the kingdom of 
Argos, 102; but exchanges it 
for the cities of Mycenae and 
Tiryns, 103. 

Phaedra. Daughter of Minos king 
of Crete. Is married to Theseus, 
197. Loves Hippolytus and 
asks him to marry her, 197. 
Cause.s his death when he re- 
fuses, and then hangs herself in 
despair, 198. 

Pha'iUon. Son of Helios, 39. 
Obtains leave from his father to 
drive the chariot of the sun for 
a single day, 40. Falls from it, 
and is killed by a thunderbolt, 
41. 

Phrgeus. Purges Alcmaeon from 
the stain of blood, and gives him 
his daughter in marriage, 227. 
Sends his sons to kill Alcmaeon 
on account of his faithlessness, 
229. 



INDEX. 



263 



Pkeuieia. The home of Europa 

and Cadmus, 54. 
Pkineus. (1 ) Brother of Cepheus. 

Disputes the right of Perseus to 

• marry Andromeda, and is turned 
to stone, 100 and 101. (2) A 
seer whom the Argonauts de- 
liver from the Harpies, 157 and 
158. 

Pholus. One of the Centaurs. En- 
tertains Heracles in his care, 
H7and 118. 

Phrixus. Son of King Athamas, 
and brother of Helle. His step- 
mother lays a plot to kill him, 
hut he is rescued by a Golden 
Ram and carried away to Colchis, 
where he marries the daughter 
of King Aeetes, 148 to 150. 

Phrygia. The country of Tanta- 
lus, 75. His son Pelops is driven 
away from his kingdom, 77. 

Phylacus. Inherits the cattle of 
his father Iphiclus, 69. Agrees 
to give them to Melampus if he 
will teach him how his son may 
propitiate the gods and obtain 
an heir, 70 to 72. 

Pkyleils. Son of Augeas king of 
Elis. Refuses to bear false 

• witness against Heracles, and is 
banished by his father, 120 and 
121. Heracles restores him, 
and makes him king, 142. 

Pillars of Heracles. Two moun- 
tains of rock set up by Heracles 
in the sea between Europe and 
Africa, 128. 

Pmtkous. King of the Lapithae. 
Forms a friendship with 
Theseus, 195; who helps him 
to defeat the Centaurs, 196. 
Pirithous is compelled to sit for 
ever on an iron seat in the 
Lower "World, 200 and 202. 

Pluto. Son of Cronus, 4. Is made 
king of the Lower World, 5. 
Carries off Persephone, 16 to 
18. Allows Sisyphus to return 



to the earth for a single day, 44. 
Allows Heracles to take Cer- 
berus to the Upper World on 
condition that he captures him 
without weapons, 13tf. 

Podarces. Son of Laomedon king 
of Troy. Is rescued by his 
sister He'sione when the town 
is sacked by Heracles, 140. 
Eeceives the name of Priam, 
141. 
'Pollux. Son of Zeus and Leda, 
and brother of Castor, 200 and 
201. Rescues his sister Helena, 
201. Takes part in the expe- 
dition of the Argonauts, 157. 
Petitions Zeus that he and his 
brother Castor may be allowed 
to share the same fate, 201. 

Polybus. King of Corinth, 205. 
Adopts Oedipus, 206. 

Polymces. Son of Oedipus and 
Joeasta. Is banished from 
Thebes by his brother Eteocles, 
and takes refuge with Adrastus 
king of Argos, 212 and 213. 
Induces Adrastus to march an 
army against Thebes, 213. 
Accepts his brother's challenge 
to single combat, in which he 
gives and receives a mortal 
blow, 220. 

Poseidon. Son of Cronus, 4. The 
sea is made subject to him, 4 
and 5. Gives Idas a winged 
chariot in which to carry off 
Marpessa, 20. Becomes the 
father of Otus and Ephialtes, 
27. Punishes Cassiopea for 
being vain of her beauty, 99. 
Gives Pterelaus a golden hair 
which preserves him from 
death, 107. Sends Minos a bull 
for sacrifice, and punishes him 
for keeping it back, 122. 
Punishes Laomedon for his 
faithlessness, 126. The Argo is 
dedicated to Poseidon, 171. 
Poseidon disputes with Athene 



264 



INDEX. 



PRI 

the guardianship of Athens, 
176. At the request of Theseus, 
he creates the monster that 
destroys Hippolytus, 198. 

Priam. See Podarces. 

Proetus. King of Argos. Cleanses 
Bellerophon from the murder of 
his brother, 45 ; but thinking 
he has done him an injury, sends 
him to Iobates, -whom he desires 
to kill him, 46. Sends to beg 
Melampus to restore his daugh- 
ters to their right minds, 73 and 
74. 

Prometheus. Brings down fire to 
the earth against the will of 
Zeus, 9 and 10. Is chained, as 
a punishment, to Mt. Cauca- 
sus where an eagle preys upon 
his liver, 12. Is delivered by 
Heracles, 12. Warns his son 
Deucalion of the great Flood 
about to take place, 13. 

Psyche. Is hated by Aphrodite 
on account of her beauty, 231. 
Is carried away by the AVind- 
god, and secretly married to 
Eros, 232 and 233. She dis- 
obeys his command that she 
shall never seek to see him, and 
he is obliged to leave her, 236. 
Psyche enters the service of 
Aphrodite, who requires her to 
accomplish hard tasks, 237 to 
242. Zeus gifts Psyche with 
immortality, and sanctions her 
marriage with Eros, 243. 

Pttrelaus. Grandson of Perseus 
and king of the Teleboae. Dis- 
putes the right of Eleetryon to 
the cities of Mycenae and 
Tiryns, 104. Amphitryon leads 
an expedition against him, and 
conquers him through the treach- 
ery of his daughter, 106 and 107. 

Pylos. The home of Melampus, 
68 ; also of King Neleus and 
his daughter Pero, 69. Heracles 
conquers the city, 142. 



Pyrrha. Wife of Deucalion, who 
is saved with him in a wooden 
chest at the time of the great 
Flood, 13 to. 15. 

Pyihia. The Priestess of Apollo, 
through whom the prophetic 
answers vouchsafed by the god 
were transmitted, 55. Answers 
are given by her to Cadmus, 
56; to Heracles, 113; to the 
Athenians, 203 ; to Oedipus, 
206. An answer is refused to 
Heracles, 139. 



JfrHEA. Wife of Cronus, 2. 

Saves her son Zeus from 

being devoured by his father, 3. 

Borne. Heracles passes the spot 
where Eome was* afterwards 
built, in bringing the cattle of 
G-eryon to Mycenae, 130. 

OALMONEUS. King of Elis. 
Tries to imitate Zeus, and is 
destroyed by a thunderbolt, 42 
and 43. 

Sciron. One of the robbers killed 
by Theseus on his journey to 
Athens, 181. 

Scyros. The island where Theseus 
proposed to spend the last days 
of his life, 202. He is trea- 
cherously killed there by Lyeo- 
medes, . 203. The Athenians 
fetch his bones from the island, 
203 and 204. 

Selene. Goddess of the moon. 
Loves Endymion, 30. 

Semele. Daughter of Cadmus and 
Harmon: a. Is secretly married 
to Zeus, 61. Prevails on him 
to come to her clothed in the 
glory of the gods, and dies at 
the sight, 61 and 62. Is gifted 
by Zeus with immortality, 67. " 

Shadow-leader. The conductor of 
dead souls to the Lower World. 
He takes Alcestis thither, 94. 



INDEX. 



U6> 



sic 

Sicily. The goddess Athene 
buries one of the Giants beneath 
the island, 6. Persephone is 
• carried off from it by the god 
Pluto, 16. Daedalus 'flies to it 
from the island of Crete, 53. 

Silenus. Plays with Dionysus 
when a child, 64. Follows him 
in his journey through the 
world, 65 and 66 ; and helps to 
celebrate his marriage with 
Ariadne, 192. 

Sirens. Treacherous sea-nymphs, 
who attract sailors by their 
magic singing and then tear 
them to pieces. The Argonauts 
escape them through listening 
to the song of Orpheus, 168. 

Sisyphus. King of Corinth. Tries 
to cheat gods as well as men, 
and is tormented in the Lower 
World with an unending 
punishment, 43 and 44. 

Sparta. The country of King 
Tyndareus, husband of Leda. 
Theseus and Pirithoiis go there 
and carry off Helena, 199. 

Sparti. The warriors who sprang 
from the dragon's teeth sown 
by Cadmus, 58. 

Sphinx. A monster with the head 
of a woman and the body of a 
lioness. She propounds a riddle 
and devours everyone who fails 
to answer it, 207 and 208. Oedi- 
pus guesses the riddle, and the 
Sphinx dies, 208. 

Sthenelus. Brother of Electryon. 
Drives his niece Alcmene and 
her brother from Mycenae, and 
seizes the kingdom, 105. Be- 
comes the father of Eurystheus, 
109. 

Storm-foot. One of the Harpies 
from whom the Argonauts de- 
liver Phineus, 157 and 158. 

Stretcher, The. One of the robbers 
killed by Theseus on has way to 
Athens, 181 and 182. 



THE 

Styinphalus. A city in Arcadia. 
Heracles drives away the birds 
that infest the Stymphalian 
lake, 121 and 122. 

Styx. A river of the Lower World, 
by which the gods swore an in- 
violable oath, 40 ; 62. 

Swift-winy. One of the Harpies 
from whom Phineus is delivered 
by the Argonauts, 157 and 158. 

Syria. Io travels to Syria to find 
her child, 33. I 

J1AENARUS, MT. Psyche is 
directed to go there to find an 
entrance to the Lower World, 
240. 

Talos. An iron watchman, made 
by Hephaestus for Minos king of 
Crete. Medea deludes him into 
killing himself, 169 and 170. 

Tantalus. King of Phrygia, 65; 
and father of Niobe, 80. Kills his 
son Pelops and offers the flesh 
to the gods at a banquet, 75. Is 
condemned in the Lower World 
to an unending punishment, 76. 

Tartarus. A dark pit below the 
earth into which the hundred- 
armed and one-eyed monsters 
are banished by Uranus, 2. 
They are released by Zeus, and 
the old gods whom he has 
defeated, take their place, 4. Ty- 
phosus is thrust into Tartarus, 7. 

Telamon. Receives the beautiful 
Hesione as a reward for having 
been the first to scale the walls 
of Troy, 140. 

Teld'oae. The subjects of King 
Pterelaus. They are sent on an 
embassy to Electryon, and a 
quarrel takes place, 104. Am- 
phitryon marches against them 
at the desire of Alcmene, and 
conquers their land, 105 to 107. 

Thebes. Built by the descendants 
of Cadmus; 59. > A wall is built 
round it by means of the song 



266 



INDEX. 



THE 

of Amphion, 59 and 60. Alemene 
takes shelter there when driven 
by Sthenelus from Mycenae, 1 05. 
Amphitryon delivers the city 
from the destroying Fox, 106. 
Heracles is born in Thebes, 108 
and 110. He delivers the land 
from the tribute imposed by the 
Minyae, 111 and 112 ; but leaves 
the city after his madness, 113. 
Lai'us and Jocasta are king and 
queen of Thebes, and Oedipus is 
born there, 205. Oedipus de- 
livers the land from the Sphinx, 
and becomes king, 207 and 208 ; 
but on the .discovery of his pa- 
rentage, he is banished, 209 and 
210. His sons Eteocles and Poly- 
niees succeed him, but Polynices 
is banished by his brother, 212. 
Polynices goes to Argos, 212 ; 
and persuades Adrastus to lead 
an army against Thebes, 213. 
The Argives are defeated before 
Thebes, 218 to 220. .Creon king 
of Thebes refuses burial to the 
Argives, and immures Antigone 
for disobeying his orders, 221 to 
223. The Epigoni march against 
Thebes 224 and 225. The The- 
bans decide to abandon the city, 
225 and 226^ The Epigoni and 
others re-people it, 226 and 227. 

Thermodon. A river in Asia, near 
which was the country of the 
Amazons, 125. 

Thersander. Son of Polynices. 
Made king of Thebes by the 
Epigoni, on their taking posses- 
sion of the city, 226. 

Theseus. Son of Aegeus king of 
Athens. Is brought up at 
Troezen by his mother Aethra, 
177 and 178. Is sent by her to 
the court of his father at Athens, 
179. On his way there, he kills 
many robbers, — the Club-car- 
rier, 179 ; the Fir-bender, 179 and 
ISO ; Sciron, 181 ; the Stretcher, 



TIR 

181 and 182. Peaches Athens, 
182 ; and is recognised by Ae- 
geus, 183. Medea's attempt to 
poison him fails, 183. The 
Pallantidae are foiled in their 
plan to murder him, 184. 
Theseus captures the Bull of 
Marathon, 184 and 185. Goes 
to Crete as part of the tribute 
of seven youths and seven 
maidens, kills the Minotaur, 
and escapes with Ariadne, 187 
to 190. Is compelled to leave 
Ariadne atNaxos, 191. Forgets 
to hoist the white sail, and thus 
causes the death of his father, 
192 and 193. Carries off Hip- 
polyta to be his wife, 193. 
Conquers the Amazons, 194 and 
195. Makes a friendship with 
Pirithoiis, and helps him to 
defeat the Centaurs, 1 95 and 1 96. 
Erects an Altar of Pity in the 
market-place of Athens, 196. 
Marries Phaedra, 197. Prays 
for the death of Hippnlytus, 198 
Joins Pirithoiis in carrying oft" 
the beautiful Helena, 1 99 ; and 
descends with him to the Lower 
World to try and get possession 
of Persephone, 199. Finds him- 
self unable to leave a stone on 
which he had sat, down for a 
moment, 200; but after many 
years is released by Heracles, 
201 and 202. On his return to 
Athens, finds himself forgotten, 
and retires to Scyros, 202. Is 
there killed treacherously by Ly- 
comedes,203.His bones are trans- 
ferred to Athens, 203 and 2C4. 

Thrace. The country of Diomedes, 
whose fierce horses Heracles 
goes to fetch, at the command 
of Eurystheus, 123. 

Tirerias. A blind seer of Thebes. 
Explains the visit of Zeus to 
Alemene, 108. Foretells the 
fate of Oedipus, 205 ; and 225. 



INJDEX. 



267 



Advises. the Thebans to abandon 
the city, 225. Go u s with them, 
and dies during the flight, 226. 

Tirtfns. Perseus exchai ges his 
kingdom cf Argos for the ciries 
of Mycenae and Tiryns. 103. 
The right of his son Electryon 
to succeed is disputed by Ptere- 
laus, 104. Sthenelus takes pos- 
session of the kingdom, 1 05. He 
is succeeded by Eurystheus, 
109. 

Titans, Titanides. Children of 
Uranus and G-aea, 2. The father 
of Prometheus Avas a Titan, 9. 

Trachis. A city of Greece. He- 
racles leaves Calydon for Tra- 
chis, 141 ; and goes from Trachis 
lo Euboea, 145. 

Tripod. A three-legged stool on 
which the Priestess of Apollo 
sat when uttering her divine 
predictions, 55. Heracles car- 
ries off the sacred Tripod from ' 
Delphi, 139. 

Triptolemus. Is taught by De- 
meter how to sow corn and cul- 
tivate the land, 19. 

Troezm. The home of Aethra, wife 
of King Aegeus, 177- Theseus 
is brought up by her at Troezen, 
177 and 178. Helena is placed 
there under her care for a time, 
but is rescued by her brothers, 
199 and 201. 

Troy. The country of King Lao- 
medon, father of Ganymede. 
Apollo and Poseidon build a 
wall round Troy, and punish 
Laomedon for withholding the 
reward he has promised, 126. 
Heracles lands at Troy, and res- 
cues Hesione from the monster, 
126 and 127. Returns to pun- 
ish Laomedon for his faithless- 
ness, and conquers the city, 140. 

lydetis. Is driven from his coun- 
try on account of an uninten- 
tional murder, and goes for re- 



fuge to Adrastus king of Argos, 
212 and 213. Takes part in the 
expedition against Thebes, 213. 
Bears a message to Eteocles, 
and distinguishes himself by 
feats of strength, 218. Is 
killed before Thebes, with all 
the other heroes, 220. 

Tyndareus. Kingof Sparta, 199 ; 
and husband of Leda, 200. 

Typkoeus, A monster created by 
Gaea to fight against the gods, 
6. Is conquered by Zeus, and 
flung into Tartarus, 7. 

.. 

ry-ANDEEING ROCKS. The 
Argonauts pass through 

them in safety by the help of 

Hera, 168 and 169. 
Wind-god. Carries Psyche into 

the beautiful valley, 232. 

Brings her two sisters to see 

her, 234 ; and takes them home 

again, 235. 

J/EUS. Son of Cronus and Ehea. 
J Is hidden in the island of 
Crete and nourished by the goat 
Amalthea, 3. Makes war agai list 
his father and thrusts him into 
Tartarus, 4. Marries Hera, 4. 
Conquers the Giants, 6; ami 
Typhdeus, 7. Sends Pandora to 
bring Disease and Care into the 
world, 10 and 11. Punishes 
Prometheus for bringing down 
fire to the earth, 12. Destroys 
the world by a Flood, 13 and 
14; and allows Deucalion and 
Pyrrha to re-people it, 14 and 
15. Stops the fight about to 
take place between Apollo and 
Idas, 21. Marries Leto and 
becomes the father of Apollo 
and Artemis, 23. Becomes the 
father of Eudvmion whom he 



26R 



INDEX, 



gifts with perpetual sleep, 29. 
Hurls a thunderbolt at Phaeth on 
to prevent him from destroying 
the earth, 41. Carries off Europa 
in the form of a bull, 54 and 58. 
Marries Semele, and at her wish 
goes to her surrounded with the 
glory of the gods, 62. Raises 
her from the Lower World to 
Olympus, 67. Conceals his son 
Dionysus from Hera, 63 ; and 
gifts him with divine power, 
64 and 65. Imposes a punish- 
ment upon Apollo, 81. Marries 
Da Dae in the form of a golden 
sshower, and becomes the father 
of Perseus, 95 and 96. Marries 
Alcmene.and becomes the father 



ZET7 

of Heracles, 108 and 109. De- 
crees that the next child horn 
of the race of Perseus shall rule 
o^ T er the cities of Mycenae and 
Tiryns, 109. Sends his sacred 
eagle to steal away G-anyraede, 
127. Interposes between He- 
racles and Apollo,139. Punishes 
Hera for trying to destroy Hera- 
cles, 141. Marries Leda in the 
form of a swan, and becomes the 
father of Pollux and Helena, 
200. Grants the wish of Pol- 
lux to share the fate of his 
brother Castor, 201. Causes 
the two sons of Alcmaeon to 
grow up to manhood in a single 
night, 229. 



